SSC Seminars: Spectroscopic Insights into Reconnection Dynamics in Solar Flares

Wednesday, February 01, 2023 - 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Zoom online


Speaker: Ryan French, National Solar Observatory (NSO)

Full title: Spectroscopic and Spectropolarimetric Insights into Reconnection Dynamics in Solar Flares

Abstract: Solar flares are one of the most energetic events in the solar system, powered by the conversion of magnetic free energy into particle acceleration, plasma heating and EM radiation, through a process called magnetic reconnection. However, the exact nature of magnetic reconnection within flares is still uncertain. Current sheets, the region where reconnection takes place, are notoriously difficult to observe, primarily due to their small thickness (below current observable limits of instrumentation).

 In this work, we combine spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter (CoMP) and Hinode EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS), to probe the dynamics of these illusive current sheet structures and reveal insights into the fundamental physical processes within them.

Schedule: Check out the rest of this season's Space Science Seminar Series, as well as previous recordings.