Laboratory XUV Spectroscopy: Increasing the Scientific Return of Solar Missions

Unraveling the complex and poorly known physical mechanisms that govern coronal heating, solar wind acceleration, and the occurrence of dynamic events such as flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is key to our understanding of the Sun and stars, space weather, and the interaction between stars and planets. There are many current, planned, and proposed missions aimed at answering these important questions by targeting the Extreme Ultraviolet/Soft X-ray (EUV/SXR or XUV) wavelength region, where clues of the underlying physics exist. As technology has improved, these missions have (or will) observe the solar spectrum with unprecedented spatial, spectral, or temporal resolution and sensitivity. As a result, advances are also required for the underlying atomic data needed to accurately model and interpret these spectra. The increasingly complex calculations, including more atomic transitions from more ions, have only recently become available (or will soon be) and require laboratory verification. To this end, we propose a three-year laboratory-based program to measure and identify strong Fe lines in the 90 - 200 Å bandpass to test complex atomic calculations required for current and upcoming solar missions to meet or exceed their scientific objectives, and to potentially identify target lines or important wavelength regions for future missions. The program will focus on laboratory spectroscopic measurements taken at an electron beam ion trap (EBIT) facility at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, a partner of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. A simultaneous survey of the entire 50-200 Å XUV wavelength region will be carried out using a spectrometer and deep cooled CCD that will be purchased as part of this program. While the spectrometer has a moderate resolution (0.28 Å), the EBIT's mono-energetic electron beam energy allows individual charge states to be easily separated and unambiguously identified (unlike in the solar spectrum). The proposed work will focus on measuring and identifying lines from Fe VIII – Fe XXII, using a non-Maxwellian collisional radiative (CR) model and CHIANTI [9], an atomic database for spectroscopic diagnostics of astrophysical plasmas. The program will result in: 1.) published laboratory spectra available to the community for testing models, 2.) measured wavelengths and identification of strong lines from Fe VIII- Fe XXII ions for verifying calculations or direct inclusion in atomic databases, and 3.) application of results to solar physics through updates to CHIANTI or direct application to solar spectra, advancing our understanding of the Sun and its behavior. This work aligns with the goals of the Laboratory Nuclear, Atomic, and Plasma Physics (LNAPP) element, to support spacecraft observations and models.

Support NASA's Heliophysics strategic science objectives to understand the Sun and its interactions with Earth and the solar system, including space weather. This will be achieved by developing/demonstrating instrumentation technology necessary to address the following science goals: Explore the physical processes in the space environment from the Sun to the Earth and throughout the solar system; Advance our understanding of the connections that link the Sun, the Earth, planetary space environments, and the outer reaches of our solar system; Develop the knowledge and capability to detect and predict extreme conditions in space to protect life and society and to safeguard human and robotic explorers beyond Earth.

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