SHINE: Analysis of Solar Active Region Energetics Based on Non-Force-Free Coronal Magnetic Field Extrapolation

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The Principal Investigator's team will investigate solar active region dynamics, utilizing a novel data analysis technique involving vector magnetograms as well as data-driven magnetohydrodynamic simulations, to quantitatively assess the physics of force balance and imbalance, magnetic energy content, and relevant non-potential features in solar active regions. The results will produce a non-force-free magnetic solution consistent with vector magnetograms and with observed coronal loop structures observed in the extreme ultraviolet. This study will exploit the best available space-based and ground-based observations for magnetography and coronal loop imagery, with the goal to enhance both our physical understanding and predictive capabilities for non-force-free magnetic fields in solar active regions.These results will help predict the dynamics of the solar atmosphere and the likelihood of occurrence of flares and coronal mass ejections, and thus it will have positive impact on space weather forecasting capabilities. In this effort, the Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR) at the University of Alabama at Huntsville will collaborate with the Solar Physics group at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center to explore the development of spacecraft instrumentation that could be flown on new major NASA solar missions. In this way, the CSPAR faculty will develop the expertise needed to build and sustain a critical mass research group at the University, enhancing the education and training of future space physicists there. The team will also engage the under-served and under-represented student population in the Huntsville community in collaboration with Alabama A&M University, a minority-serving institution, by hiring undergraduate and graduate students as summer interns in order to enhance their research experience in space science.