Speaker
Description
First Name: Tania
Last Name: Varesano
Email Address: tania.varesano@colorado.edu
Affiliation: SWRI / CU Boulder
All Authors: Tania Varesano, Don Hassler, Yeimy Rivera, Joe Plowman
Abstract: The SPICE (Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment) and HIS (Heavy Ion Sensor) instruments on Solar Orbiter were designed to enable us to trace the source regions of elemental enrichment at the Sun into the heliosphere and examine the processes governing composition signatures in different solar wind regimes. We utilize EUV (Extreme Ultra-Violet) spectroscopic observations from SPICE aboard Solar Orbiter, analyzing emission lines from ions formed over a wide temperature range—from the upper chromosphere to the low corona. To extend our analysis beyond the solar atmosphere, we incorporate in-situ measurements from HIS, linking solar surface composition to solar wind outflows. Our investigation includes the evolution of relative elemental abundances in solar active regions (ARs) in the context of the first ionization potential (FIP) effect. Our objective is to characterize how abundance variations develop across solar structures and different atmospheric layers, and to understand their evolution when expanding out into the heliosphere. Preliminary results provide new insights into the coupling between magnetic structure, elemental fractionation, and solar wind composition—shedding light on how the FIP effect evolves and manifests in both the solar atmosphere and heliosphere.