Understanding the pre-flare trigger
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Mullard Space Science Laboratory
Abstract
Solar flares are the most energetic phenomena in the solar system, releasing their energy in just minutes. They have an impact on the the Earth's atmosphere and can disrupt satellites. Spacecraft are used daily by us to communicate, make business transations, and travel. This project is to understand the trigger of solar flares. It is known that magnetic complexity and magnitude are all factors that lead to large flares. But it is not know what exactly triggers a flare, and when exceptionally large ones will occur. At the peak of this solar cycle, we now have an extensive database of flares that have been observed spectroscopically with the Hinode EUV spectrometer. This allows us to explore the dynamics in the corona. The recently launched IRIS spacecraft studies the mysterious chromosphere spectrscopically and we now have a number of examples of flares being observed simulateously with the two spacecraft. This project will involve analysis of these datasets to produce the physical characteristics that lead to a solar flare occurring.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Louise Harra (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Magnus Woods (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST/N504488/1 | 01/10/2015 | 31/03/2021 | |||
| 1579018 | Studentship | ST/N504488/1 | 01/10/2015 | 30/09/2018 | Magnus Woods |
| Description | Through the work undertaken as part of this research grant, I have utilitilised data taken from the IRIS and Hinode/EIS satellites and identified small-scales, transient spectroscopic signatures up to an hour prior to the occurrence of solar flares. The signatures have been examined in detail and within the context of existing models of flare/eruption triggering. This analysis was also carried out in conjunction with non-linear force free magnetic field modelling to explore the 3D structure of the solar magnetic field within the vicinity of the identified spectral signatures. |
| Exploitation Route | I intend to build upon the results of this research grant. The studies undertaken during this funding period are derived from single event studies. While the examination of single events in detail is highly important the obvious next step from this work is to expand the study to a larger statistical example. To this end I intend to build a large statistical sample of flare events to identify how commonly these identified signatures are prior to flaring. |
| Sectors | Environment |
| Description | JSPS Summer Program |
| Amount | ￥535,000 (JPY) |
| Organisation | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Japan |
| Start | 06/2017 |
| End | 08/2017 |