CAREER: Probing Stressed Magnetic Fields in Solar Active Regions

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This five-year CAREER project addresses a fundamental question for solar physics, namely the role of magnetic fields of active regions (ARs) in producing solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The research agenda of this project utilizes the most advanced tools currently available to attack several long-standing problems in solar physics. Both the modeling and the observational components of the project are at the forefront of the field, promising exciting new results within the next five years and beyond. The research agenda is also timely since the project will utilize data from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST), which will become operational in the Summer of 2020.The Institute for Astronomy (IfA) in Hawai'i has a long-standing tradition in solar physics research and education. This CAREER project will use the DKIST as an opportunity to foster the growth of the next generation solar physicists. The project will enable multiple research assistantships and the design of a new graduate-level course at the IfA. Furthermore, the PI will be actively engaged in various public outreach activities, including the Hawai'i Student / Teacher Astronomy Research (HI STAR) program and the NSF's Research Experience for Undergrads (REU) program. The PI will also give public lectures on Space Weather in the State of Hawai'i. The research and EPO agenda of this CAREER project supports the Strategic Goals of the AGS Division in discovery, learning, diversity, and interdisciplinary research.This five-year CAREER project is aimed at exploring the dynamic properties of solar ARs, which harbor strong, stressed magnetic fields. The energy stored in these fields can be released explosively to power solar flares and coronal mass ejections, causing strong space weather disturbances at the Earth and elsewhere in the heliosphere. The research goal of this project is two-fold: (i) benchmark a new data-driven, time-dependent, three-dimensional (3-D) model of solar ARs, namely the Coronal Global Evolutionary Model (CGEM); and, (ii) constrain the model using present (Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO)) and future (DKIST) solar observations. During the project, key AR characteristics will be estimated using the SDO's HMI data and the CGEM results. The DKIST data will be used to resolve the relevant contributions of the fine-scale fields of ARs.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.