In force date
Call year
2018
Investigator
Elena
Khomenko Shchukina
Fernando
Moreno Insertis
Financial institution
Financing subprogram
Amount granted to the IAC Consortium
217.800,00 €
Description
| The Sun, our star, is not only the source of the electromagnetic radiation that bathes our planet; it also sweeps the Earth's magnetosphere with its wind and heliospheric magnetic field. It frequently sends huge ropes of magnetized plasma, the coronal mass ejections, that can hit us and cause solar storms, thus constituting a serious potential hazard for our society. The origin of the solar wind and coronal mass ejections and the roots of the heliospheric magnetic field lines are found in the solar atmosphere, which extends from the solar surface (the photosphere) outward through chromosphere, transition region and the overlying corona. The solar atmosphere is a highly-magnetized, incredibly dynamic environment, permeated by waves and shocks, and punctured by a myriad of ejections and eruptions of different sizes crisscrossing all its levels. It is also a very inhomogeneous medium, and some of its basic features still constitute basic unsolved problems in astrophysics, like the counter-intuitive increase of temperature toward higher levels, with the photosphere being comparatively cool, 5800 degrees, while the corona has a million degrees. In the present project we intend to study the solar atmosphere essentially using a theoretical approach: on the one hand, using the physical laws of magnetofluid dynamics and radiation-matter interaction, we model different fundamental phenomena. Specifically, we consider the emergence of magnetized plasma from the solar interior on sub-arcsecond scales; the generation of magnetic field through a local surface dynamo; different kinds of chromospheric and transition region jets; waves; and the prominence eruptions that are at the base of the Coronal Mass Ejections. The models will be carried out in two or three spatial dimensions using cutting-edge, massively parallel computer codes to be run on supercomputing installations; those codes are among the most advanced radiationmagnetohydrodynamic codes available at present, one of which has been developed by our group. As our second objective, we focus on individual physical processes, like shocks, instabilities or reconnection, that require a highly idealized treatment. The simplicity of the models in this objective allows us to try demanding departures from the customary approach, like using separate equations for the different component species of the plasma. Third, for comparison with the observations, it is crucial to carry out forward-modeling, i.e., synthesize the electromagnetic spectrum that would come out of our models if they emitted radiation like the corresponding solar plasma does. Part of this modeling includes the polarization of the light, and the Zeeman and Hanle effects and will be carried out with another 3D code developed by our group. Also, within this objective, we envisage direct support to the definition of the instrumental configuration for the European Solar Telescope via synthesis of observables for the diagnostic of photospheric and chromospheric magnetic fields. Finally, as its fourth objective, the project envisages construction of additional modules in our codes. Our team has extended experience in theoretical, computational and observational solar physics research. We have been repeatedly awarded the prestigious grants of the European Research Council in the past ten years. The present project is the natural continuation of our work within the Spanish National Plan. |
