Observing the Sun with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA): High-Resolution Interferometric Imaging |
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| Authors: | M Shimojo T S Bastian A S Hales S M White K Iwai R E Hills A Hirota N M Phillips T Sawada P Yagoubov G Siringo S Asayama M Sugimoto R Braj?a I Skoki? M Bárta S Kim I de Gregorio-Monsalvo S A Corder H S Hudson S Wedemeyer D E Gary B De Pontieu M Loukitcheva G D Fleishman B Chen A Kobelski Y Yan |
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| Institution: | 1.National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ),Mitaka,Japan;2.Department of Astronomical Science,The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI),Mitaka,Japan;3.National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO),Charlottesville,USA;4.Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO),Vitacura,Chile;5.Space Vehicles Directorate,Air Force Research Laboratory,Albuquerque,USA;6.Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE),Nagoya University,Nagoya,Japan;7.National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT),Koganei,Japan;8.Astrophysics Group,Cavendish Laboratory,Cambridge,UK;9.European Southern Observatory (ESO),Vitacura,Chile;10.European Southern Observatory (ESO),Garching bei München,Germany;11.Hvar Observatory, Faculty of Geodesy,University of Zagreb,Zagreb,Croatia;12.Astronomical Institute,Academy of Sciences,Ond?ejov,Czech Republic;13.Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI),Yuseong-gu,Republic of Korea;14.School of Physics and Astronomy,University of Glasgow,Glasgow,UK;15.Space Sciences Laboratory,University of California, Berkeley,Berkeley,USA;16.Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics,University of Oslo,Oslo,Norway;17.Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research,New Jersey Institute of Technology,Newark,USA;18.Lockheed Martin Solar & Astrophysics Lab,Palo Alto,USA;19.Max-Planck-Institut for Sonnensystemforschung,G?ttingen,Germany;20.Astronomical Institute,St. Petersburg University,St. Petersburg,Russia;21.Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research,Univ. of Alabama Huntsville,Huntsville,USA;22.National Astronomical Observatories,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Chaoyang District,China;23.Korea University of Science and Technology,Yuseong-gu,Republic of Korea |
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| Abstract: | Observations of the Sun at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths offer a unique probe into the structure, dynamics, and heating of the chromosphere; the structure of sunspots; the formation and eruption of prominences and filaments; and energetic phenomena such as jets and flares. High-resolution observations of the Sun at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths are challenging due to the intense, extended, low-contrast, and dynamic nature of emission from the quiet Sun, and the extremely intense and variable nature of emissions associated with energetic phenomena. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) was designed with solar observations in mind. The requirements for solar observations are significantly different from observations of sidereal sources and special measures are necessary to successfully carry out this type of observations. We describe the commissioning efforts that enable the use of two frequency bands, the 3-mm band (Band 3) and the 1.25-mm band (Band 6), for continuum interferometric-imaging observations of the Sun with ALMA. Examples of high-resolution synthesized images obtained using the newly commissioned modes during the solar-commissioning campaign held in December 2015 are presented. Although only 30 of the eventual 66 ALMA antennas were used for the campaign, the solar images synthesized from the ALMA commissioning data reveal new features of the solar atmosphere that demonstrate the potential power of ALMA solar observations. The ongoing expansion of ALMA and solar-commissioning efforts will continue to enable new and unique solar observing capabilities. |
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