The IBIS 2.0 project upgrades the Interferometric BIdimensional Spectrometer, which was operated at the Dunn Solar Telescope of the National Solar Observatory from 2003 to 2019, for installation at the Themis telescope at the Teide Observatory. The instrument combines two tunable Fabry-Perot interferometers, narrowband interference filters, a polarimetric unit, fast cameras, and a suitable control for the acquisition of high-resolution spectropolarimetric data of the solar atmosphere in the 580–860 nm spectral range with short exposures at high cadence under a remote control.
The project involves several INAF institutes and universities, including:
• INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma (INAF – OAR)
• INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste (INAF – OATs)
• INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Catania (INAF – OACt)
• INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera (INAF – OAB)
INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte (INAF – OAC)
• Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata” (UNITov)
The analysis of the data acquired with the previous instrument (IBIS@DST) has provided important insights into the interaction between plasma and magnetic fields in the lower layers of the Sun’s atmosphere. IBIS has resulted in more than 250 publications in refereed journals.
IBIS 2.0 will play a crucial role in answering several open questions regarding plasma and magnetic fields at different heights in the solar atmosphere, such as the nature of umbral dots, moving magnetic features, plasma jets in sunspot light bridges, and the formation and decay of sunspots. It is expected to perform highly stable imaging spectropolarimetry, which will be useful for monitoring the quiet Sun (also for irradiance estimates), studying MHD waves, and characterizing emerging flux regions in the solar atmosphere. Further, IBIS2.0 will help address questions about the structure, dynamics, energy transport and heating of the chromosphere by studying phenomena such as magnetic reconnection, plasma acceleration, and secondary effects of solar flares. Coordinated observing campaigns with other ground-based and space telescopes will increase the chances of answering all the scientific questions for which IBIS2.0 is designed.
For further information visit the IBIS2.0 webpage