Observation at radio frequencies of the hydroxyl (OH) absorption line in filaments and prominences above active regions of the Sun

Abstract

When observing the Sun with RATAN-600 radio telescope using a spectropolarimetric complex in the range 1–3 GHz, as well as when observing coronal rain, absorption in the radio emission was discovered in the spectral region 1.5–1.65 GHz in active solar regions located under a cold filament or on the limb under a prominence. The observed line structure corresponds to the hyperfine splitting frequencies in the ground state of X²Π₃/₂ hydroxyl (OH) 1612–1720 MHz. When the observed active region passes through the knife-shaped beam pattern of the telescope antenna, the absorption band shifts in frequency due to a shift in the energy levels of the OH molecule in a magnetic field, which changes along the filament.

Keywords

• sun
• coronal structures
• absorption lines
• hydroxyl