What's the Deal with Coronal Dimming? - The Connection between Coronal Dimming Signatures and the Overlying Magnetic Field

Advisors: Chris Lowder and Jiong Qiu

Coronal dimming signatures are, as can be imagined by the name, regions marked by a drop in intensity as seen in the solar corona. These regions can be easily observed in the EUV range of data as evolving dark patches caused by a drop in plasma density. These events can occur in association with coronal mass ejections, as a result of magnetic field topological reconfiguration. As some part of the magnetic field is opened by reconnection, the material in the corona can be evacuated, leading to these dimming regions. Through study of the evolution of these dimming regions, we can infer information regarding reconfiguration of the overlying magnetic field.

Using developed software routines, the student will complete an analysis of several dimming regions. Beginning with legacy EIT data from SOHO, the student will then progress towards using the higher resolution AIA data from the newly operational SDO mission. The programming / analysis will be completed using the IDL language. While IDL programming is not required, general programming knowledge is a plus. Those familiar with MATLAB should find IDL to be a smooth transition.

You can read about related REU projects here: http://solar.physics.montana.edu/home/www/reu/2010/dhickey/ .