Studying magnetic reconnection in solar eruptive events

Advisors: Jiong Qiu and Richard Canfield

Solar 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. Magnetic reconnection changes the way magnetic field lines connect to the Sun's surface, and a lot of energy is released during such changes. The importance of magnetic reconnection is also becoming recognized in solar eruptions on much larger scales, such as "coronal mass ejections" (CMEs), but we do not fully understand the physical role of magnetic reconnection in the initial stage of CMEs. In this project, we will study the evolution of flares as an indicator of magnetic reconnection process, compute important parameters of magnetic reconnection, and search for better understanding of the relationship between magnetic reconnection and large-scale eruptions.

The student involved in this project will be taught how to retrieve data from the satellites TRACE, SoHO, and RHESSSI, and analyze observations of flares and magnetic fields. The student will learn about the Sun's atmosphere and magnetic fields and basic astronomical digital data analysis. The student will also learn a bit about how to link theoretical models with observations. Computer experience is required. Experience with IDL is desired though not required.

You can read about related REU projects here: http://solar.physics.montana.edu/home/www/reu/2008/nhill/ and http://solar.physics.montana.edu/home/www/reu/2008/ewolf/