Electrodynamics of magnetic explosions in astrophysics. The project aims to develop a new model for solar flares and pulsars that more realistically describes these phenomena. Solar flares and pulsars involve strong magnetic fields changing rapidly as a function of time, implying enormous inductive potentials. The project aims to show how the inductive field and the plasma response to it can be included in an electrodynamic theory. It plans to apply this theory to solar flares, and show how it c ....Electrodynamics of magnetic explosions in astrophysics. The project aims to develop a new model for solar flares and pulsars that more realistically describes these phenomena. Solar flares and pulsars involve strong magnetic fields changing rapidly as a function of time, implying enormous inductive potentials. The project aims to show how the inductive field and the plasma response to it can be included in an electrodynamic theory. It plans to apply this theory to solar flares, and show how it can resolve the long-standing ‘number problem’. It also plans to apply the model to pulsars, and show how the long-standing dichotomy between the vacuum-dipole and rotating-magnetosphere models can be resolved by synthesising them. The project intends to combine these ideas into a new model for the most extreme examples of magnetic explosions: superflares and giant bursts on magnetars.Read moreRead less
Magnetic skeletons, solar flares, and space weather. This project aims to investigate how magnetic reconnection occurs during solar flares through accurate reconstruction of coronal magnetic fields from solar data before and after flares, and by reliable determination of field skeletons. Solar flares are dynamic events in the Sun's corona which cause local space weather storms. Magnetic reconnection is the accepted mechanism for flares but conventional models neglect the three-dimensional (3D) n ....Magnetic skeletons, solar flares, and space weather. This project aims to investigate how magnetic reconnection occurs during solar flares through accurate reconstruction of coronal magnetic fields from solar data before and after flares, and by reliable determination of field skeletons. Solar flares are dynamic events in the Sun's corona which cause local space weather storms. Magnetic reconnection is the accepted mechanism for flares but conventional models neglect the three-dimensional (3D) nature of the process. The project will improve 3D reconnection models for flares, and advance the ability to predict large events and hence space weather storms.Read moreRead less