Are collisions with electrons important for modeling the polarization of the lines of the C2 solar molecule?

Observations of the second solar spectrum(SSS) revealed the existence of prominent linear polarization signals due to lines of the C2 molecule.Interpretation of the SSS is the only tool to obtain the weak and turbulent magnetic field which is widespread in the Quiet Sun.However,this interpretation is conditioned by the determination of accurate collisional data.In this context,we present a formulation of the problem of the calculation of the polarization transfer rates by collisions of polarized C2 states with electrons.The obtained formulae are applied to determine,for the first time,the polarization transfer rates between the C2 states of the Swan band electronic system(a 3Πu d 3Πq) and electrons for temperatures going up from 1000 to 10000 K.However,due to the closeness of the electronic states of the C2 molecule,the two electronic d 3Πg and a 3Πu cannot be disconnected from the other electronic levels and,thus,a model based on only two states is not sufficient to describe the formation of the lines in the Swan band.Consequently,we also calculated the collisional polarization transfer rates in the case where the first eight electronic states of C2 are taken into account.All rates are given as functions of the temperature by power laws.Our results should be useful for future solar applications.

Depolarizing isotropic collisions of the CN solar molecule with electrons

Existence of linear polarization,formed by anisotropic scattering in the photosphere,has been demonstrated observationally as well as theoretically and is called second solar spectrum(SSS).The SSS is distinguished by its structure,which is rich in terms of information.In order to analyze the SSS,it is necessary to evaluate the(de)polarizing effect of isotropic collisions between CN solar molecules and electrons or neutral hydrogen atoms.This work is dedicated to calculations of the polarization transfer rates associated with CN-electron isotropic collisions.We show that usual rates serve as a proxy for polarization transfer rates.Then,we take advantage of available usual excitation collisional rates obtained via sophisticated quantum methods in order to derive the polarization transfer rates for the X^2Σ+-B^2Σ+(violet) and X^2Σ+-A^2Π(red) systems of CN.Our approach is based on the infinite order sudden(IOS)approximation and can be applied for other solar molecules.We discuss the effectiveness of collisions with electrons on the SSS of the CN lines.Our results contribute to reducing the degree of complication in modeling the formation of the SSS of CN.

Effect of anisotropic collisions on solar scattering polarization

Scattering of anisotropic radiation by atoms,ions or molecules is sufficient to generate linear polarization observable in stars and planets’atmospheres,circumstellar environments,and in particular in the Sun’s atmosphere.This kind of polarization is called scattering polarization(SP)or second solar spectrum(SSS)if it is formed near the limb of the solar photosphere.Generation of linear SP can typically be reached more easily than circular SP.Interestingly,the latter is often absent in observations and theories.Intrigued by this,we propose to demonstrate how circular SP can be created by anisotropic collisions if a magnetic field is present.We also demonstrate how anisotropic collisions can result in the creation of circular SP if the radiation field is anisotropic.We show that under certain conditions,linear SP creation is accompanied by the emergence of circular SP which can be useful for diagnostics of solar and astrophysical plasmas.We treat an example and calculate the density matrix elements of tensorial order k=1 which are directly associated with the presence of circular SP.This work should encourage theoretical and observational research to be increasingly oriented towards circular SP profiles in addition to linear SP in order to improve our analysis tools of astrophysical and solar observations.