Skip to main content
Log in

Improvements in the Determination of ISS Ca ii K Parameters

  • Published:
Solar Physics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Measurements of the ionized Ca ii K line are one of the major resources for long-term studies of solar and stellar activity. They also play a critical role in many studies related to solar irradiance variability, particularly as a ground-based proxy to model the solar ultraviolet flux variation that may influence the Earth’s climate. Full disk images of the Sun in Ca ii K have been available from various observatories for more than 100 years and latter synoptic Sun-as-a-star observations in Ca ii K began in the early 1970s. One of these instruments, the Integrated Sunlight Spectrometer (ISS) has been in operation at Kitt Peak (Arizona) since late 2006. The ISS takes daily observations of solar spectra in nine spectra bands, including the Ca ii K and H lines. We describe recent improvements in data reduction of Ca ii K observations, and present time variations of nine parameters derived from the profile of this spectral line.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Buccino, A.P., Díaz, R.F., Luoni, M.L., Abrevaya, X.C., Mauas, P.J.D.: 2011, Long-term chromospheric activity in southern M dwarfs: Gl 229 a and Gl 752 A. Astron. J. 141, 34. doi: 10.1088/0004-6256/141/2/34 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Donahue, R.A., Keil, S.L.: 1995, The solar surface differential rotation from disk-integrated chromospheric fluxes. Solar Phys. 159, 53 – 62. doi: 10.1007/BF00733031 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Foukal, P.: 2002, A comparison of variable solar total and ultraviolet irradiance outputs in the 20th century. Geophys. Res. Lett. 29(23), 2089. doi: 10.1029/2002GL015474 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Foukal, P., Bertello, L., Livingston, W.C., Pevtsov, A.A., Singh, J., Tlatov, A.G., Ulrich, R.K.: 2009, A century of solar Ca ii measurements and their implication for solar UV driving of climate. Solar Phys. 255, 229 – 238. doi: 10.1007/s11207-009-9330-0 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Giampapa, M.S., Hall, J.C., Radick, R.R., Baliunas, S.L.: 2006, A survey of chromospheric activity in the solar-type stars in the open cluster M67. Astrophys. J. 651, 444 – 461. doi: 10.1086/507624 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Grunhut, J.H., Wade, G.A., Hanes, D.A., Alecian, E.: 2010, Systematic detection of magnetic fields in massive, late-type supergiants. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 408, 2290 – 2297. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.17275.x .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, J.C., Lockwood, G.W.: 1998, The solar activity cycle. I. Observations of the end of cycle 22, 1993 September – 1997 February. Astrophys. J. 493, 494 – 504. doi: 10.1086/305116 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, J.C., Lockwood, G.W., Skiff, B.A.: 2007, The activity and variability of the Sun and sun-like stars. I. Synoptic Ca ii H and K observations. Astron. J. 133, 862 – 881. doi: 10.1086/510356 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Hasler, K., Rüdiger, G., Staude, J.: 2002, Signature of differential rotation in solar disk-integrated chromospheric line emission. Astron. Nachr. 323, 123 – 128.

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Kane, R.P.: 2002, Evolutions of various solar indices around sunspot maximum and sunspot minimum years. Ann. Geophys. 20, 741 – 755. doi: 10.5194/angeo-20-741-2002 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Keil, S.L., Worden, S.P.: 1984, Variations in the solar calcium K line 1976 – 1982. Astrophys. J. 276, 766 – 781. doi: 10.1086/161663 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Keil, S.L., Henry, T.W., Fleck, B.: 1998, NSO/AFRL/Sac peak K-line monitoring program. In: Balasubramaniam, K.S., Harvey, J., Rabin, D. (eds.) Synoptic Solar Physics CS-140, 301 – 309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller, C.U., Harvey, J.W., Giampapa, M.S.: 2003a, SOLIS: an innovative suite of synoptic instruments. In: Keil, S.L., Avakyan, S.V. (eds.) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, 4853, 194 – 204.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller, C.U., Harvey, J.W., The Solis Team: 2003b, The SOLIS vector-spectromagnetograph. In: Trujillo-Bueno, J., Sanchez Almeida, J. (eds.) Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, 307, 13 – 22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenz, L.F., Reiners, A., Kürster, M.: 2010, A search for star – planet interactions in chromospheric lines. ArXiv:1012.1720 .

  • Livingston, W., Milkey, R., Slaughter, C.: 1977, Solar luminosity variation. I – C i 5380 as a temperature indicator and a search for global oscillations. Astrophys. J. 211, 281 – 287. doi: 10.1086/154929 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Livingston, W., Wallace, L., White, O.R., Giampapa, M.S.: 2007, Sun-as-a-star spectrum variations 1974 – 2006. Astrophys. J. 657, 1137 – 1149. doi: 10.1086/511127 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Livingston, W., White, O.R., Wallace, L., Harvey, J.: 2010, Sun-as-a-star, chromospheric lines, 1974 – 2009. Mem. Soc. Astron. Ital. 81, 643 – 645.

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Megier, A., Strobel, A., Galazutdinov, G.A., Krełowski, J.: 2009, The interstellar Ca ii distance scale. Astron. Astrophys. 507, 833 – 840. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/20079144 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Ortiz, A., Rast, M.: 2005, How good is the Ca ii K as a proxy for the magnetic flux? Mem. Soc. Astron. Ital. 76, 1018 – 1021.

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Pierce, A.K., Breckinridge, J.B.: 1974, The Kitt Peak table of photographic solar spectrum wavelengths. KPNO contribution 559.

  • Rutten, R.G.M.: 1984, Magnetic structure in cool stars. VII – absolute surface flux in CA ii H and K line cores. Astron. Astrophys. 130, 353 – 360.

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Toussaint, R.M., Harvey, J.W., Toussaint, D.: 2003, Improved convergence for CCD gain calibration using simultaneous-overrelaxation techniques. Astron. J. 126, 1112 – 1118. doi: 10.1086/376846 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Vieytes, M.C., Mauas, P.J.D., Díaz, R.F.: 2009, Chromospheric changes in K stars with activity. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 398, 1495 – 1504. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15207.x .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Vieytes, M., Mauas, P., Cacciari, C., Origlia, L., Pancino, E.: 2011, Modelling chromospheric line profiles as diagnostics of velocity fields in ω Centauri red giant stars. Astron. Astrophys. 526, A4. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/201015455 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, L., Hinkle, K., Livingston, W.: 2007, An atlas of the spectrum of the Solar photosphere from 13 500 to 33 980 cm −1 (2942 to 7405 Å).

    Google Scholar 

  • White, O.R., Livingston, W.: 1978, Solar luminosity variation. II – Behavior of calcium H and K at solar minimum and the onset of cycle 21. Astrophys. J. 226, 679 – 686. doi: 10.1086/156650 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, O.C.: 1968, Flux measurements at the centers of stellar H- and K-lines. Astrophys. J. 153, 221 – 234. doi: 10.1086/149652 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, O.C., Vainu Bappu, M.K.: 1957, H and K emission in late-type stars: Dependence of line width on luminosity and related topics. Astrophys. J. 125, 661 – 683. doi: 10.1086/146339 .

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. Bertello.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bertello, L., Pevtsov, A.A., Harvey, J.W. et al. Improvements in the Determination of ISS Ca ii K Parameters. Sol Phys 272, 229 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-011-9820-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-011-9820-8

Keywords

Navigation