SHINE: Impact of Large-Scale Magnetic Topology on Dynamics of Solar Corona

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The main goal of this 3-year SHINE project is to perform a large ensemble study of the topology of the large-scale magnetic environments associated with a series of features and events in the solar corona. The statistical analysis resulting from this project is likely to result in a significant understanding of the causes of disruptive events on the Sun, which is important from a societal standpoint as these events often lead to space weather. Furthermore, programs such as the NSF's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and the existing partnership between the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory and the Palo Alto Unified School District, would allow the project team to involve young, up-and-coming talent in the pursuit of science. The research and EPO agenda of this project supports the Strategic Goals of the AGS Division in discovery, learning, diversity, and interdisciplinary research.The main research objective of this SHINE project is to apply topological analysis software on a series of magnetic field models of the corona during sunspot cycles 23 and 24 (spanning about 20 years), and by applying statistical methods to these results. The project team will investigate the relationship between the production of dynamical events on the Sun and the presence of null points, separatrix surfaces, separator field lines and other key topological indicators of the magnetic structure. As part of this project, several improvements to the existing Potential Field Source Surface (PFSS) model extrapolation and topological analysis codes will be implemented, including the addition of more accurate spherical harmonic calculation, field interpolation, and field-line integration methods. Topological analysis codes will also be developed and implemented. The research work thus represents a significant upgrade of the existing PFSS package, which is available to anyone in the scientific community via the Solar SoftWare (SSW). Additionally, the catalog of topological objects, such as coronal null points, separatrix surfaces, and separators will be uploaded to the Heliophysics Events Knowledgebase (HEK), which allows such objects to be returned in queries of the HEK by the user community.