Sun-as-a-Star Spectral Line Variability in the 300–2390 nm Wavelength Range

Sergey V. Marchenko, Antje Ludewig, Serena Criscuoli, Khaled Al Moulla, Debi P. Choudhary, Matthew T. DeLand, Greg Kopp, Erwin Loots, Emiel van der Plas, and Pepijn Veefkind

Combining the near-daily Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) measurements of solar spectra, we construct line indices (line-core to line-flanks ratios) for various transitions (mainly Fe i) in the 300–2390 nm spectral domain. The indices are supplemented by the wavelength-binned fluxes from OMI and Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS-1). To study the short-term (solar-rotational) patterns, we normalize the indices and fluxes to the minimum-activity epoch, then de-trend them with 81 day running means. Comparisons of the de-trended TSIS-1 and OMI fluxes with the NASA-NOAA-LASP SSI (NNLSSI1) model show excellent agreement, to (0.5–2.2) × 10−4 in the normalized and de-trended data. The data are subjected to a multiregression analysis against quantities representing the facular brightening and the sunspot darkening. The de-trended line indices and average fluxes show different sensitivities to these two solar magnetic-activity manifestations, with the fluxes being far more susceptible to the sunspot component. The de-trended line indices experience a rapid drop of activity levels towards longer wavelengths, albeit with a large rebound in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) domain that is caused by the ubiquitous, temperature-sensitive CO transitions. The wavelength-dependent activity also falls, however much slower, in the de-trended average fluxes. Qualitatively similar behavior is captured by semiempirical models.

Bibliographic data

Sergey V. Marchenko, Antje Ludewig, Serena Criscuoli, Khaled Al Moulla, Debi P. Choudhary, Matthew T. DeLand, Greg Kopp, Erwin Loots, Emiel van der Plas, and Pepijn Veefkind. Sun-as-a-Star Spectral Line Variability in the 300–2390 nm Wavelength Range
Journal: The Astrophysical Journal, Volume: 977, Year: 2024, doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad888f