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LEMUR: Large European module for solar Ultraviolet Research

European contribution to JAXA’s Solar-C mission

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Abstract

The solar outer atmosphere is an extremely dynamic environment characterized by the continuous interplay between the plasma and the magnetic field that generates and permeates it. Such interactions play a fundamental role in hugely diverse astrophysical systems, but occur at scales that cannot be studied outside the solar system. Understanding this complex system requires concerted, simultaneous solar observations from the visible to the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and soft X-rays, at high spatial resolution (between 0.1′′ and 0.3′′), at high temporal resolution (on the order of 10 s, i.e., the time scale of chromospheric dynamics), with a wide temperature coverage (0.01 MK to 20 MK, from the chromosphere to the flaring corona), and the capability of measuring magnetic fields through spectropolarimetry at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. Simultaneous spectroscopic measurements sampling the entire temperature range are particularly important. These requirements are fulfilled by the Japanese Solar-C mission (Plan B), composed of a spacecraft in a geosynchronous orbit with a payload providing a significant improvement of imaging and spectropolarimetric capabilities in the UV, visible, and near-infrared with respect to what is available today and foreseen in the near future. The Large European Module for solar Ultraviolet Research (LEMUR), described in this paper, is a large VUV telescope feeding a scientific payload of high-resolution imaging spectrographs and cameras. LEMUR consists of two major components: a VUV solar telescope with a 30 cm diameter mirror and a focal length of 3.6 m, and a focal-plane package composed of VUV spectrometers covering six carefully chosen wavelength ranges between 170 Å and 1270 Å. The LEMUR slit covers 280′′ on the Sun with 0.14′′ per pixel sampling. In addition, LEMUR is capable of measuring mass flows velocities (line shifts) down to 2 km s − 1 or better. LEMUR has been proposed to ESA as the European contribution to the Solar C mission.

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Notes

  1. Solar-C Working Group, 2011, Interim Report on the Solar-C Mission Concept. http://hinode.nao.ac.jp/SOLAR-C/archive_e.html.

  2. Currently foreseen to be launched in 2017 and no later than 2018, respectively.

  3. In low Earth orbit, this effect would be much more severe and compensation heaters would be needed to dampen short-term temperature excursions.

  4. Mirrors with <2 Å rms micro-roughness are routinely produced by companies such as Zeiss for EUV lithography. Moreover, at longer wavelengths, samples with <2 Å rms micro-roughness have been produced for the SPICE instrument to be flown on Solar Orbiter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Max-Planck-Str. 2, 37191, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany

    Luca Teriaca, Werner Curdt, Davina Innes, Hardi Peter, Udo Schühle, Sami K. Solanki & Thomas Wiegelmann

  2. INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Salita Moiariello 16, 80131, Napoli, Italy

    Vincenzo Andretta

  3. Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, CNRS/Université Paris-Sud 11, UMR8617, Bâtiment 121, 91405, Orsay, France

    Frédéric Auchère, Eric Buchlin & Jean-Claude Vial

  4. Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, 20375-5320, USA

    Charles M. Brown, George A. Doschek, Clarence Korendyke, John T. Mariska & Harry P. Warren

  5. INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, 50125, Florence, Italy

    Gianna Cauzzi

  6. UCL—Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6NT, UK

    J. Len Culhane, Lucie Green, Louise K. Harra, Santiago Vargas Dominguez & Berend Winter

  7. NASA—Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

    Joseph M. Davila

  8. University of Cambridge, Wilberforce road, Cambridge, CB2 0WA, UK

    Giulio Del Zanna

  9. INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino, 20 Strada Osservatorio, Pino Torinese, Italy

    Silvano Fineschi

  10. STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK

    Andrzej Fludra

  11. School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Peter T. Gallagher

  12. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, JAXA, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-5210, Japan

    Shinsuke Imada & Toshifumi Shimizu

  13. Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, Potsdam, 14476, Germany

    Bernhard Kliem

  14. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, 38205, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

    Valentin Martínez-Pillet, Hector Socas-Navarro & Javier Trujillo-Bueno

  15. Royal Observatory of Belgium, 3 Av. Circulaire, 1180, Bruxelles, Belgium

    Susanna Parenti

  16. Department of Physics-Astrogeophysics Section, University of Ioannina, GR 451 10, Ioannina, Greece

    Spiros Patsourakos

  17. CNR—Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies, Padua, Italy

    Luca Poletto

  18. Sterrekundig Instituut Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Robert J. Rutten

  19. DLR—Institute of Space Systems, Bremen, Germany

    Martin Siemer

  20. INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Via S. Sofia 78, 95123, Catania, Italy

    Daniele Spadaro

  21. National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-8588, Japan

    Saku Tsuneta

  22. University of Central Lancashire, Lancashire, PR1 2HE, UK

    Robert Walsh

  23. College of Science, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030-4422, USA

    Peter Young

Authors
  1. Luca Teriaca
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  2. Vincenzo Andretta
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  15. Lucie Green
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  25. Hardi Peter
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  26. Luca Poletto
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  28. Udo Schühle
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  35. Saku Tsuneta
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  38. Robert Walsh
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  39. Harry P. Warren
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  40. Thomas Wiegelmann
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  41. Berend Winter
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  42. Peter Young
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Correspondence to Luca Teriaca.

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Teriaca, L., Andretta, V., Auchère, F. et al. LEMUR: Large European module for solar Ultraviolet Research. Exp Astron 34, 273–309 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-011-9274-x

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