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Determination of the temperature of the solar corona from the spectrum of the electron-scattering continuum

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Abstract

When the K-corona is formed by the scattering of photospheric radiation from free electrons, the Fraunhofer lines are greatly broadened by the thermal motions of the hot electrons. This paper discusses the possibility of measuring the coronal electron temperature from the residual depressions in the K-coronal spectrum. If the ratio of the intensities at 4100 Å and 3900 Å can be measured to an accuracy of ±1%, the coronal temperature can be inferred to an accuracy of ±0.2 MK. The temperature of a coronal inhomogeneity may also be measured by this method, provided the position angle is known.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut d'Astrophysique, Paris, France

    L. E. Cram

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  1. L. E. Cram
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Now at Fraunhofer Institute, Freiburg, Germany.

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Cram, L.E. Determination of the temperature of the solar corona from the spectrum of the electron-scattering continuum. Sol Phys 48, 3–19 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00153327

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00153327

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