Although located at 150 million kilometers from Earth, the Sun is in our immediate neighborhood compared with all other stars. The observation of the Sun along the decades has provided amazingly detailed views of the structure and day-to-day life of a star; the high-resolution observations achieved from Earth and space in recent years, in particular, have facilitated reaching deep theoretical insights concerning the structure and evolution of stellar atmospheres and interiors.
The Sun constitutes a physics laboratory where the complex interactions between the matter (atoms, electrons and ions, or molecules) and the magnetic field can be studied in conditions difficult to reach in devices on Earth. Of particular interest for the public are the spectacular phenomena displayed by its atmosphere, its role in generating the magnetized clouds that, after traversing the interplanetary space, can impact on Earth's magnetosphere and lead to the potentially dangerous solar storms, and the mysteries of the solar interior. Understanding of all those phenomena is gained by a combination of refined theoretical methods and direct or indirect observation using leading-edge technologies.
The solar physics group at the IAC enjoys a leadership position in different branches of solar research in the world. This is exemplified by the award of four large research grants by the European Research Council in the past years to researchers of the group, by its leading role in the European Solar Telescope project, and by its participation in other international networks and instrument projects. Globally, the group combines theoretical methods (magneto-fluid dynamics and plasma physics, radiation transfer), including 3D numerical radiation-MHD modeling, and state-of-the-art observational and diagnostic techniques, to achieve deep understanding of what constitutes and drives the structure and activity of our star.
Solar Physics (FS)
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PublicationHigh-frequency waves in the corona due to null pointsThis work aims to understand the behavior of non-linear waves in the vicinity of a coronal null point. In previous works we have shown that high-frequency waves...
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PublicationHigh-resolution imaging and near-infrared spectroscopy of penumbral decayAims: Combining high-resolution spectropolarimetric and imaging data is key to understanding the decay process of sunspots as it allows us to scrutinize the...
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PublicationHigh-resolution Observations of Hα Spectra with a Subtractive Double PassHigh-resolution imaging spectroscopy in solar physics has relied on Fabry-Pérot interferometers (FPIs) in recent years. FPI systems, however, become technically...
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PublicationHigh-resolution Observations of Siphon Flows in a Solar Magnetic PoreWe investigate signatures of siphon flows in a region around a solar magnetic pore, observed in the photosphere at μ = 0.6, during its decay phase. We analyze...
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PublicationHigh-resolution observations of the umbral filament in AR NOAA 12529Recent observations have shown in some sunspots the presence of structures that have been called umbral filaments (UFs). These consist of bright filamentary...
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PublicationHigh-resolution spectroscopy of Boyajian's star during optical dimming eventsBoyajian's star is an apparently normal main-sequence F-type star with a very unusual light curve. The dipping activity of the star, discovered during the...
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PublicationHigh-speed data processing onboard sunrise chromospheric infrared spectropolarimeter for the SUNRISE III balloon telescopeThe Sunrise Chromospheric Infrared spectroPolarimeter (SCIP) has been developed for the third flight of the SUNRISE balloon-borne stratospheric solar...
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NewsHot stars are plagued by giant magnetic spotsAn international team of astronomers, in which the researcher from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and the Universidad de La Laguna David Jones...
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NewsHow solar prominences vibrateAn international team led by researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the Universidad de La Laguna (ULL) has cataloged around 200...