Studies of White-Light and Black-Light Flares Using the 1.6 m New Solar Telescope (NST) at Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO)

这个为期3年的项目旨在通过对大熊太阳天文台新启用的1.6米新太阳望远镜进行前所未有的高分辨率观测和使用辐射流体动力学程序进行数值模拟，来推进目前对太阳耀斑起源的理解。预计NST的新观测将扩大现有关于耀斑能量释放过程及其对太阳深层大气的影响的知识的前沿，无论是正面对比还是负面对比。观测结果还将与数值模拟进行比较，以便对观测到的现象有更完整的物理理解。过去，NSF在支持BBSO的设施方面进行了大量投资，特别是NST，它已经从调试阶段过渡到运行阶段，从而使常规的高质量太阳观测成为可能。这种对太阳耀斑现象的比较研究将使我们能够对不仅发生在太阳上，而且发生在太阳系和恒星的其他地方的能量释放过程进行定量分析。太阳耀斑是空间天气的主要来源之一，对地球及其环境造成不利影响。对太阳耀斑现象的深入了解有助于提高对太空天气事件的预报。这项研究项目有很强的教育成分；它将支持一名女博士生和一名NJIT的初级研究员。这些研究将为学生提供在BBSO进行观测、数据处理和理解耀斑加热模型原理的全面培训。因此，该项目支持AGS司在发现、学习、多样性和跨学科研究方面的战略目标。

This 3-year project is aimed at advancing present understanding of the origin of solar flares by taking unprecedented high-resolution observations from the newly commissioned 1.6m New Solar Telescope (NST) at the Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) and numerical simulations using radiative hydrodynamic codes. The new observations by the NST are expected to extend the frontier of existing knowledge on the energy release process of flares and its impact on the deep solar atmosphere in terms of both positive and negative contrasts. The observational results will also be compared with numerical simulations in order to have a more complete physical understanding of the observed phenomena. NSF has made significant investment in supporting the BBSO's facilities in the past, in particular the NST, which has been transited from commissioning phase to operations, thus enabling routine high-quality observations of the Sun.This comparative investigation in solar flare phenomena will enable a quantitative analysis of the energy release processes that occur not only on the Sun, but also elsewhere in the solar system and stars. Solar flares are one of the key sources of space weather, which causes adverse impacts on the Earth and its environment. Advanced understanding of the solar flare phenomenon helps improve forecasts of space weather events at their onset.This research project has a strong educational component; it will support a female Ph.D. student and a junior researcher at the NJIT. The studies will provide a comprehensive training for the student in taking observations at the BBSO, data processing and understanding the principals of flare heating models. Therefore, the project supports the Strategic Goals of the AGS Division in discovery, learning, diversity, and interdisciplinary research.