Dynamic response of the solar corona to heating driven by photospheric motions

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Hardi Peter
• Subject Area: Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: from 2008 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 57710050

Cool stars are surrounded by hot coronae which are heated to some million degrees Kelvin. The heating processes, widely proposed to be related to the stellar magnetic field, lead not only to temperatures in the outer atmosphere well in excess of the stellar surface, but result also in a highly dynamic response of the plasma, inducing flows and waves. To study these processes the Sun is of pivotal interest because here we can spatially resolve individual structures in the corona.In this proposal we will utilize new 3D MHD numerical simulations in combination with new observations of unprecedented quality to investigate the dynamic response of the corona to the heating process. The Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer on the new Hinode space observatory provides large spatial maps of emission line profiles with high time cadence, which will allow for the first time to study e.g. the Doppler shift fluctuations of a large part of an active region. This will provide a new test for the 3D MHD models of the corona which became available only in recent years. These 3D models together with the new observations will also open possibilities for investigations of coronal seismology, and help to infer the physical parameters in various structures found in the solar corona.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants