Recordings of the full Stokes vector of filaments in the Hα and He I D3 lines were obtained at the Gregory-Coudé telescope in Locarno with the polarimeter ZIMPOL. The aim was to perform preliminary studies to explore the presence of forward scattering polarization. The observations show linear polarization signatures, whose interpretation is still

We present a study of two spectral lines, Fe I 6173 Å and Ni I 6768 Å, that were candidates to be used in the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) for observing Doppler velocity and the vector magnetic field. The line profiles were studied using the Mt. Wilson Observatory, the Advanced Stokes Polarimeter and the Kitt Peak-McMath Pierce telescope

We present information on two spectral lines, Fe I 6173 Å and Ni I 6768 Å, that were candidates for use in the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument. Both Fe I and Ni I profiles have clean continuum and no blends that threaten performance. The higher Landé factor of Fe I means its operational velocity range in regions of strong magnetic

A long-debated issue concerning the nucleosynthesis of neutron-rich elements in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars is the identification of the neutron source. We report intermediate-mass (4 to 8 solar masses) AGB stars in our Galaxy that are rubidium-rich as a result of overproduction of the long-lived radioactive isotope 87Rb, as predicted

We studied the quiet-Sun magnetic fields interpreting spectro-polarimetric observations of infrared and visible spectral lines. Magnetic field strengths and filling factors were inferred by the simultaneous inversion of Stokes profiles of the Fe I lines at 6301.5, 6302.5, 15648, and 15653 Å under the MISMA hypothesis. They cover a solar intra

Proper motions in penumbra have been measured using local correlation tracking techniques in a high spatial resolution series of images (˜0.12 arcsec). Assuming these motions to trace true plasma motions, we have detected converging flows that arrange the plasma in long narrow filaments mostly placed along dark penumbral filaments. These converging