Magnetohydrodynamic and kinetic models of magnetic reconnection applied to solar coronal activity

太阳的大气层，日冕，是非常动态的。太阳耀斑是一种剧烈的事件，它以电磁辐射的形式在整个光谱中释放大量的能量，这是由热等离子体和大量高能非热带电粒子的产生造成的。太阳耀斑会对地球及其空间环境产生重大影响，对太空中的人类来说可能是一个非常严重的问题。此外，人们认为日冕等离子体的惊人高温（数百万度，与几千度的表面温度相比）可能是许多被称为纳米耀斑的小型耀斑事件加热的结果。耀斑和纳米耀斑都是通过磁重联过程释放储存的磁能，这导致等离子体加热和带电粒子加速。我们研究的目的是调查由于磁重联的能量释放，使用流体和动力学模型的等离子体，并应用结果来了解日冕加热和耀斑。我们还旨在确定直接可观察到的重连后果，并使用TRACE，RHESSI，Hinode和Stereo等空间太阳观测站的观测结果来测试我们的模型。

The atmosphere of the Sun, the corona, is very dynamic. Solar flares are dramatic events which release large amounts of energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation across the spectrum, resulting both from the creation of hot plasma and from large numbers of high energy non-thermal charged particles. Solar flares can have significant effects on the Earth and its space environment, and can be a very serious issue for humans in space. Also, it is believed that the surprisingly high temperature of coronal plasma (milllions of degrees, compared with a surface temperature of a few thousand degrees) may be the result of heating by many small flare-like events known as nanoflares. Both flares and nanoflares are a release of stored magnetic energy through the process of magnetic reconnection, which results both in heating of the plasma and in the acceleration of charged particles. The aim of our research is to investigate the energy release due to magnetic reconnection, using both fluid and kinetic models of the plasma, and to apply the results to understand both coronal heating and flares. We also aim to determine consequences of reconnection which are directly observable, and to test our models using observations from space borne solar observatories such as TRACE,RHESSI, Hinode and Stereo.