Summer 2010 REU Projects

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Project type and supervisor
  Project title and brief description
(Click title for details)
Explosive Flare
Data analysis with 
Angela Des Jardins
and
Richard Canfield
  The Magnetic Nature of Solar Flares
Due to its dynamic activity, the sun has a great impact on everyday lives in our natural and technological world. A direct hit by a coronal mass ejection, and the associated flare effects, can knock out satellites. The student will analyze observations of this flare to learn about how X-rays are produced in solar flares and how X-ray images and magnetic topology can help us understand flare initiation and evolution.  
A
partitioned magnetogram
Theory and modeling with 
Dana Longcope 
  Heating and Cooling in a Solar Flare
A solar flare is a sudden conversion of energy from magnetic energy into other forms. As a result of the conversion, high-temperature coronal plasma is heated and evaporated, it then cools as it radiates X-rays. Observations suggest that energy is being released continually during the life of a flare . The student will assemble a collection of X-ray observations and use them to infer the energy-input profile. A newly developed model for energization will be used to interpret this data.  
A
partitioned magnetogram
Data analysis with 
Dana Longcope 
and
Lucas Tarr  
  Coronal Field Evolution Driven by Field Emergence
The Sun's magnetic field is created by the emergence of concentrated tubes forming sunspots. The atmosphere above these regions is structured and energized by the emerging field. In this project the student will analyze magnetic field emergency in an active region, model the energy build up, and compare to the observed X-ray emission.
A
partitioned magnetogram
Data analysis with 
Dana Longcope 
and
Jiong Qiu  
  Magnetic Connections to Space
The Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, is structured by its magnetic field. Many of the coronal field lines connect between sunspots on the solar surface; these are called closed file lines. Regions of closed fields are separated by regions where magnetic field lines extend out to interplanetary space, called open field regions. In this project the student will use a model of the coronal magnetic field to predict where the open regions will be.  
Flare
reconnection model and flare observations
Data analysis with 
Jiong Qiu 
and
Richard Canfield  
  Magnetic Reconnection in Solar Eruptive Events
Flares are spectacular manifestations of explosive energy release in the Sun's atmosphere. It is understood that the energy to fuel flares is provided by the Sun's magnetic fields, most probably through a physical process called magnetic reconnection. In this project, we will search for better understanding of energy release through magnetic reconnection.  
SSEL Activities
Hardware development with 
David Klumpar 
  Space Hardware Development: Space Flight Systems for Space Science
MSU's Space Science and Engineering Laboratory (SSEL) involves students in highly responsible roles in science and engineering associated with the development of space flight systems for scientific applications. The student(s) will develop spaceflight hardware through design, development, and testing as a member of an interdisciplinary project student team. Participants must be U.S. citizens.