I am an astrophysics student at Smith College, which is a small school located in Northampton, Massachusetts. My previous research has been in the field of extra galactic astronomy, specifically the study of high-redshift galaxy clusters. I love physics and astronomy and my goal for my undergraduate career is to explore as many fields of astrophysics as possible. I plan to go to graduate school for physics or astrophysics and eventually start a career as a physicist (specific field undecided at the moment!)
I am president of my college's Physics and Astronomy Society and I spend a good deal of time volunteering for science outreach programs that help spread scientific education to grade school students and adult learners.
In my free time, I love hiking, biking, and having fun with friends. I love art and photography as well. I am an avid Doctor Who fan and my favorite musical group is Metric.
In the Sun's chromosphere, there are things called Type 1 and Type 2 spicules, or extremely fast jets of plasma. The Type 1 spicules have an accepted physical interpretation as slow shocks propagating up tubes of magnetic field. However, the solar physics community is divided at the moment as how to interpret the Type 2 spicules, which this project is most concerned with. Several researchers insist that the Type 2 spicules are also a tubular phenomenon.
However, regarding the Type 2 spicules, there are several observed phenomena that clash with the tubular model. The spicules appear and disappear extremely fast (on the order of seconds). De Pontieu and his colleagues argue that what we see with these spicules is a result of standing waves of plasma propagating about a tube of flux. The problem with this explanation is that the moving matter must exceed the Alfven speed measured in this region of the chromosphere to complete the motion within the time constraint. Plus, it seems rather metriculous to set up standing waves consistently.
In the 1970s, Parker proposed a model for plasma sheets in the chromosphere. The magnetohydrodynamic equations that lead to the flux tube solutions also have 'weak' solutions that result in tangential discontinuities. These weak solutions indicate the existence of plasma sheets that form as a result of the tangential discontinuities (complex magnetic flux tubes interacting with each other and forming a sheet structure). Today, this model is being considered to explain the aforementioned superfast phenomena. What if the superfast phenomena, though to be standing waves of plasma, are actually apparent motions due to plasma sheets moving around like lace curtains in the wind? When a lace curtain is planar, one can see through it. But when the lace curtain is bunched together, it becomes opaque. It it possible that the brief bursts of radiation we call Type 2 spicules are a manifestation of these plasma sheets orienting themselves in a certain way and becoming visible.
Our goal with this project is to work with our data of Type 2 spicules and attempt to disprove the tubes-only model and the sheet model. We are going to search for evidence inconsistent with either model and attempt to find exactly where each one breaks down, if at all.
Our data comes from the Dunn Solar Telescope and was created using the IBIS instrument. We have over 20 files containing images of an active region near the limb of the Sun where multiple spicules and fibrils may be observed. The images were taken over a period of 20 minutes and range from a few seconds to a few minutes apart. These images were also taken over a range of wavelengths above and below the 656.3 nanometer Hydrogen Alpha line. This is because the matter we are observing is likely to be moving around and may be red-shifted or blue-shifted.
We are using IDL to analyze this data. Data analysis will consist of studying the redshifts and blueshifts of the spicules in order to determine their motion and velocities. As we have data taken over a wide range of time, we hope to map the appearace of spicules over a range of wavelengths and the motions of spicules over a period of time. By studying the motions of this fast phenomena, we hope find inconsistencies with respect to the tube and/or sheet model.
Data Analysis
Fibril Statistics Data Calcium Vs H-Alpha Statistics In Summary Data Analysis
Documentation
Daily Log Fibril Statistics MFBD Vs Speckle Analysis Midterm Poster Tubes Vs Sheets
Final Results
Final_Presentation Discussion For The Paper Research Project Conclusions
Images
Movies