Preparing DKIST to characterize magnetic reconnection at the elemental scale

准备 DKIST 以表征元素尺度的磁重联

• 批准号: 1839084
• 负责人: Dana Longcope
• 金额: $ 37.68万
• 依托单位: Montana State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-15 至 2022-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1839084&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Preparing; DKIST; characterize; magnetic; reconnection

On the Sun, solar flares release magnetic energy very quickly using a process called magnetic reconnection. This grant will develop and use a method of studying the magnetic reconnection driving a solar flare. The investigators will simulate solar flares powered by magnetic reconnection, and test the reality of these simulations against measurements made by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spacecraft now studying the Sun. The new method they develop will be ready to analyze observations of the solar chromosphere made at much greater resolutions by the new Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) when it begins operation. This project supports the mission of the NSF by promoting our understanding of magnetic field structure and activity at the Sun. The research will contribute to the doctoral thesis of a physics graduate student supervised directly by the investigators.The investigators will measure the reconnection characteristics indirectly, using spectroscopic observations of the solar transition region and chromosphere, where high spatial resolution and rapid time cadences are possible, using far ultraviolet measurements made by the IRIS spacecraft. They will develop numerical simulations of flaring loops energized by reconnection to compute the downward flows generated in the transition region and chromosphere. They will then test and calibrate these computations using existing spectroscopic observations of flare ribbons made by IRIS. Future observations using the DKIST Visible Spectropolarimeter and the Visible Tunable Filter instruments each measure different lines of Ca II which, in flare ribbons, will contain information about the energy release by flare reconnection. The calibrated model will be used with these data to measure solar flare magnetic reconnection at the smallest scales yet resolved.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

在太阳上，太阳耀斑通过一种称为磁重联的过程非常迅速地释放磁能。这笔赠款将开发并使用一种方法来研究驱动太阳耀斑的磁重联。研究人员将模拟由磁场重联提供动力的太阳耀斑，并对照目前正在研究太阳的界面区域成像光谱仪(IRIS)航天器所做的测量来测试这些模拟的真实性。他们开发的新方法将准备好分析新的丹尼尔·K·井上太阳望远镜(DKIST)在开始运行时以更高分辨率对太阳色球进行的观测。该项目通过促进我们对太阳磁场结构和活动的了解来支持国家科学基金会的任务。这项研究将有助于由研究人员直接指导的一名物理学研究生的博士论文。研究人员将利用IRIS航天器进行的远紫外线测量，通过对太阳过渡区和色球的光谱观测间接测量重联特征，在这些区域，高空间分辨率和快速时间节奏是可能的。他们将开发通过重新连接提供能量的耀斑环路的数值模拟，以计算在过渡区和色球中产生的下行流动。然后，他们将使用IRIS对耀斑带的现有光谱观测来测试和校准这些计算。未来使用DKIST可见光光谱偏振仪和可见光可调滤光片仪器进行的观测都会测量到不同的CaII谱线，在耀斑带中，这些谱线将包含有关耀斑重联释放能量的信息。校准后的模型将与这些数据一起用于在尚未解决的最小尺度上测量太阳耀斑磁重联。这一裁决反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。