CAREER: Novel Data-Based Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Solar Eruptions

太阳喷发，包括太阳耀斑和日冕物质抛射(CME)，可能导致相对论粒子流和磁场强度增强。它们是地球上经历的空间天气的主要来源，可能会扰乱卫星操作、通信系统，并导致电网中断。该项目使用观测数据集和磁流体动力学(MHD)模拟来了解触发和驱动太阳喷发的过程。该项目的更广泛影响包括扩大新泽西理工学院(NJIT)日地研究中心，以支持新聘用的教员、一名女性高级研究教授的建模工作，以及扩大来自代表性不足群体的学生和博士后。首席调查员(PI)将开发和教授一个新的基于数据的研究生水平的数值模拟课程和一个建立天体物理流体模型的暑期学校。该项目使用从先进的外推方法获得的日冕磁场参数或数据驱动的MHD模拟作为初始条件进行基于数据的MHD模拟。利用Goode太阳望远镜(GST)获得的高分辨率光球磁图数据，利用矢量磁图的微分仿射速度估计器(DAVE4VM)方法得到的光球流场将被用作驱动边界条件。该研究的创新之处在于，从太阳耀斑的启动过程出发，从环面不稳定加速磁绳非线性演化的新角度研究了日冕物质抛射的启动过程。这项研究旨在澄清以下科学问题：(1)在光球运动的驱动下，磁场是如何变得不稳定并爆发的？(2)磁通量绳是如何形成并演化成环面不稳定的？(3)最终，它是如何在被环面不稳定加速后成长为CME的？这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Solar eruptions, including solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), can lead to streams of relativistic particles and enhancements in magnetic field strengths. They are a major source of space weather experienced on Earth, which can disrupt satellite operations, communications systems, and lead to power grid outages. This project uses observational data sets along with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to understand the processes that trigger and drive solar eruptions. The broader impacts of the project include expanding the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Center for Solar Terrestrial Research to support modeling efforts from a new faculty hire, a female senior research professor, and growing the group with students and post-docs from under-represented groups. The Principal Investigator (PI) will develop and teach a new data-based graduate level numerical simulation course and a summer school for modeling astrophysical fluids.The project conducts data-based MHD simulations using parameters for the coronal magnetic field derived from advanced extrapolation methods or data-driven MHD simulations as initial conditions. The observed photospheric flow field, derived by the differential affine velocity estimator for vector magnetograms (DAVE4VM) method with high-resolution photospheric magnetogram data obtained from the Goode Solar Telescope (GST), will be adopted as driving boundary conditions. The novelty of the research is that it investigates the CME initiation process from the new perspective of the nonlinear evolution of the magnetic flux rope being accelerated by a torus instability, starting from the initiation process of solar flares. The research aims to clarify the following scientific questions: (1) how does the magnetic field, as driven by the photospheric motions, become unstable and run into eruption? (2) How does the magnetic flux rope form and evolve toward torus instability? (3) Eventually, how does it grow into a CME after being accelerated by the torus instability?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.