Evidence for a Transition Region response to penumbral microjets in sunspots

Penumbral microjets are short-lived, fine-structured and bright jets that are generally observed in chromospheric imaging of the penumbra of sunspots. Here we investigate their potential transition region signature, by combining observations with the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) in the Ca II H and Ca II 8542Å lines with ultraviolet imaging and spectroscopy obtained with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), which includes the C II 1334/1335Å, Si IV 1394/1403Å and Mg II h & k 2803/2796Å lines. We find a clear corresponding signal in the IRIS Mg II k, C II and Si IV slit-jaw images, typically offset spatially from the Ca II signature in the direction along the jets: from base to top, the penumbral microjets are predominantly visible in Ca II, Mg II k and C II/Si IV, suggesting progressive heating to transition region temperatures along the jet extent. Hence, these results support the suggestion from earlier studies that penumbral microjets may heat to transition region temperatures.

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