Related papers: A Qualitative Interpretation of the Second Solar S…
This paper addresses the modelling issue of the linearly-polarized solar limb spectrum, which is due to scattering processes and it offers a rich diagnostic potential for exploring solar magnetic fields via the Hanle effect. However, this…
The polarization of radiation by scattering on an atom embedded in combined external quadrupole electric and uniform magnetic fields is studied theoretically. Limiting cases of scattering under Zeeman effect and Hanle effect in weak…
This paper reviews some of the developments that over the last 10 years have allowed us to go from deciphering the physical origin of several of the enigmatic features of the second solar spectrum to discovering unknown aspects of the Sun's…
We investigate the main physical mechanisms that shape the intensity and polarization of the Ba II D1 line at 4934 angstroms via radiative transfer numerical experiments. We focus especially on the scattering linear polarization arising…
Quantum interference effects together with partial frequency redistribution (PFR) in line scattering produce subtle signatures in the so called Second Solar Spectrum (the linearly polarized spectrum of the Sun). These signatures are…
The Ly-alpha line of He II at 304 \AA\ is one of the spectral lines of choice for EUV channels of narrow-band imagers on board space telescopes, which provide spectacular intensity images of the outer solar atmosphere. Since the magnetic…
One of the greatest challenges in solar and stellar physics in coming years will be to observe the Second Solar Spectrum with a spatial resolution significantly better than 1 arcsec. This type of scattering polarization observations would…
Interference between magnetic substates of the hyperfine structure states belonging to different fine structure states of the same term influences the polarization for some of the diagnostically important lines of the Sun's spectrum, like…
This paper is based on a dataset of many strongly polarized solar lines belonging to the ''second solar spectrum'', i.e. the spectrum near the limb in linear scattering polarization. The observations were done at the Pic du Midi Turret Dome…
Analysis of the Hanle effect in solar molecular lines allows us to obtain empirical information on hidden, mixed-polarity magnetic fields at subresolution scales in the (granular) upflowing regions of the `quiet' solar photosphere. Here we…
The physical interpretation of scattering line polarization offers a novel diagnostic window for exploring the thermal and magnetic structure of the quiet regions of the solar atmosphere. Here we evaluate the impact of isotropic collisions…
Magnetic fields in turbulent, convective high-$\beta$ plasma naturally develop highly tangled and complex topologies---the solar photosphere being the paradigmatic example. These fields are mostly undetectable by standard diagnostic…
In this article we provide a practical prescription to harness the rigorous microscopic, quantum level descriptions of light-matter systems provided by Hopfield diagonalisation for quantum description of nonlinear scattering. A general…
We consider the elastic scattering of electrons by hydrogen atoms in the presence of a two-color circularly polarized laser field in the domain of moderate intensities below $10^{13}$ W/cm$^2$ and high projectile energies. A hybrid approach…
Aims: Main goal of this work is to study the potential of He II Ly-alpha wavelength-integrated scattering polarisation for probing the magnetism of the solar upper chromosphere. Methods: Radiative transfer calculations are performed in…
The peculiar three-peak structure of the linear polarization profile shown in the second solar spectrum by the Ba II line at 4554 A has been interpreted as the result of the different contributions coming from the barium isotopes with and…
This paper considers the problem of modeling the light polarization that emerges from an astrophysical plasma composed of atoms whose excitation state is significantly influenced by the anisotropy of the incident radiation field. In…
We realized a laboratory experiment to study the scattering polarization of the Na I D-doublet at 589.0 and 589.6 nm in the presence of a magnetic field. This work was stimulated by solar observations of that doublet, which have proven…
The weak, turbulent magnetic fields that supposedly permeate most of the solar photosphere are difficult to observe, because the Zeeman effect is virtually blind to them. The Hanle effect, acting on the scattering polarization in suitable…
There is an ongoing debate about the origin and even the very existence of a high degree of linear polarization of some chromospheric spectral lines observed in solar flares. The standard explanation of these measurements is in terms of the…