On the Ratios of Si IV Lines (λ1394/λ1403) in an Emerging Flux Region

The resonance lines of Si IV formed at λ1394 and 1403 Å are the most critical for the diagnostics of the solar transition region in the observations of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). Studying the intensity ratios of these lines (1394 Å/1403 Å), which under optically thin conditions is predicted to be two, helps us to diagnose the optical thickness of the plasma being observed. Here we study the evolution of the distribution of intensity ratios in 31 IRIS rasters recorded for four days during the emergence of an active region. We found that during the early phase of the development, the majority of the pixels show intensity ratios smaller than two. However, as the active region evolves, more and more pixels show the ratios closer to two. Besides, there are a substantial number of pixels with ratio values larger than 2. At the evolved stage of the active region, the pixels with ratios smaller than two were located on the periphery, whereas those with values larger than 2 were in the core. However, for quiet Sun regions, the obtained intensity ratios were close to two irrespective of the location on the disk. Our findings suggest that the Si IV lines observed in active regions are affected by the opacity during the early phase of the flux emergence. The results obtained here could have important implications for the modeling of the solar atmosphere, including the initial stage of the emergence of an active region as well as the quiet Sun.