Heating and Cooling of Solar Flare Plasmas

Advisor: Jiong Qiu

Solar flares are spectacular energy release events 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 rapidly changes the way magnetic field lines connect to the Sun's surface, and the subsequent energy release is often manifested as heating along a multitude of newly formed magnetic flux tubes.

In this project, we will study the evolution of flare radiation signatures in magnetic loops from the chromosphere to the corona, measure the magnitude and duration of plasma heating, and search for better understanding of how free magnetic energy is finally dissipated in flare plasmas. The student will analyze observations of solar flares and magnetic fields, and learn about the Sun's atmosphere and magnetism. Experience with IDL or similar programming languages is desired though not required.