Alfvén waves, transverse incompressible magnetic oscillations, have been proposed as a possible mechanism to heat the Sun's corona to millions of degrees by transporting convective energy from the photosphere into the diffuse corona. We report the detection of Alfvén waves in intensity, line-of-sight velocity, and linear polarization images of the solar corona taken using the FeXIII 1074.7-nanometer coronal emission line with the Coronal Multi-Channel Polarimeter (CoMP) instrument at the National Solar Observatory, New Mexico. Ubiquitous upward propagating waves were seen, with phase speeds of 1 to 4 megameters per second and trajectories consistent with the direction of the magnetic field inferred from the linear polarization measurements. An estimate of the energy carried by the waves that we spatially resolved indicates that they are too weak to heat the solar corona; however, unresolved Alfvén waves may carry sufficient energy.

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We present an overview of the National Science Foundation’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST), its instruments, and support facilities. The 4 m aperture DKIST provides the highest-resolution observations of the Sun ever achieved. The large aperture of DKIST combined with state-of-the-art instrumentation provide the sensitivity to measure the vector magnetic field in the chromosphere and in the faint corona, i.e. for the first time with DKIST we will be able to measure and study the most important free-energy source in the outer solar atmosphere – the coronal magnetic field. Over its operational lifetime DKIST will advance our knowledge of fundamental astronomical processes, including highly dynamic solar eruptions that are at the source of space-weather events that impact our technological society. Design and construction of DKIST took over two decades. DKIST implements a fast (f/2), off-axis Gregorian optical design. The maximum available field-of-view is 5 arcmin. A complex thermal-control system was implemented in order to remove at prime focus the majority of the 13 kW collected by the primary mirror and to keep optical surfaces and structures at ambient temperature, thus avoiding self-induced local seeing. A high-order adaptive-optics system with 1600 actuators corrects atmospheric seeing enabling diffraction limited imaging and spectroscopy. Five instruments, four of which are polarimeters, provide powerful diagnostic capability over a broad wavelength range covering the visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared spectrum. New polarization-calibration strategies were developed to achieve the stringent polarization accuracy requirement of 5×10−4. Instruments can be combined and operated simultaneously in order to obtain a maximum of observational information. Observing time on DKIST is allocated through an open, merit-based proposal process. DKIST will be operated primarily in “service mode” and is expected to on average produce 3 PB of raw data per year. A newly developed data center located at the NSO Headquarters in Boulder will initially serve fully calibrated data to the international users community. Higher-level data products, such as physical parameters obtained from inversions of spectro-polarimetric data will be added as resources allow.

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Magnetic fields control the inconstant Sun. The key to understanding solar variability and its direct impact on the Earth rests with understanding all aspects of these magnetic fields. The Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) has been design specifically for magnetic remote sensing. Its collecting area, spatial resolution, scattered light, polarization properties, and wavelength performance all insure ATST will be able to observe magnetic fields at all heights in the solar atmosphere from photosphere to corona. After several years of design efforts, ATST has been approved by the U.S. National Science Foundation to begin construction with a not to exceed cost cap of approximately $298M. Work packages for major telescope components will be released for bid over the next several months. An application for a building permit has been submitted. Science goalsSolar mass ejections, solar flares, solar wind, and variations in the solar irradiance are all causally related to the ever changing solar magnetic field. In a way, magnetic fields are the "dark energy" problem of solar physics. Only in the solar photosphere do we have direct measurements with some degree of accuracy. But even in the photosphere, the magnetic fields change so rapidly that current telescopes can not resolve many aspects of the field before it has evolved, and the bulk of the field may exist on scales that have not been resolved. In higher atmospheric layers, our current ability to accurately measure the magnetic field is rudimentary at best.The photosphere is a crucial region where energy is transformed readily from convective motion into thermal and magnetic energy, and electromagnetic radiation. The energy stored in magnetic fields is eventually dissipated at higher layers of the solar atmosphere, sometimes in the form of violent flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that ultimately affect Earth and drive space weather. The photosphere, the chromosphere, transition region, and the corona are connected through the magnetic field and therefore have to be treated as one system, rather than as individual layers. The ATST, with high performance adaptive optics and state-of-the-art instrumentation, is a crucial tool to understand this complex, interconnected physical system. Some of the scientific problems the ATST will address include the origin and generation of magnetic fields, magnetic activity and instability, magneto-convection, chromospheric and coronal structure and heating, and sources of solar irradiance variability. A complete description of ATST science and its synergism with space missions is available at

Besides the attenuation of a neutron beam penetrating an object, induced phase changes have been utilized to provide contrast in neutron and x-ray imaging. In analogy to differential phase contrast imaging of bulk samples, the refraction of neutrons by magnetic fields yields image contrast. Here, it will be reported how double crystal setups can provide quantitative tomographic images of magnetic fields. The use of magnetic air prisms adequate to split the neutron spin states enables a distinction of field induced phase shifts and these introduced by interaction with matter.