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Linear wavelength correlation matrices of photospheric and chromospheric spectral lines: 1. Observations vs. modeling

We investigate the linear correlation coefficient between the intensities at different wavelengths in photospheric and chromospheric spectral lines. Waves that propagate vertically through the stratified solar atmosphere affect different wavelengths at different times. This leads to a characteristic pattern of (non-)coherence of the intensity at various wavelengths. We derived the correlation matrices for several photospheric and chromospheric spectral lines from observations. For comparison with the observations, we calculate correlation matrices for spectra from LTE modeling approaches, 1-D NLTE simulations, and a 3-D MHD simulation run. We apply the correlation method also to temperature maps at different optical depth layers. We find that all photospheric spectral lines show a similar pattern: a pronounced asymmetry of the correlation between line core and red or blue wing. The pattern cannot be reproduced with a simulation of the granulation pattern, but with waves that travel upwards. All chromospheric spectral lines show a more complex pattern. In the case of Ca II H, the 1-D NLTE simulations of monochromatic waves produce a correlation matrix that qualitatively matches to the observations. The photospheric signature is well reproduced in the matrix derived from the 3-D MHD simulation. The correlation matrices of observed photospheric and chromospheric spectral lines are highly structured with characteristic and different patterns in every spectral line. The comparison with matrices derived from simulations and simple modeling suggests that the main driver of the detected patterns are upwards propagating waves. Application of the correlation method to 3-D temperature cubes seems to be a promising tool for a detailed comparison of simulation results and observations in future studies.