SOLDYN : Unravelling the dynamics of the Solar Atmosphere (completed)

The aim of the SOLDYN project is to advance our understanding of the complex dynamics of the  solar atmosphere through the combination of high quality observations from both ground-based and space-born instruments. 

About the project

The Sun is our star and governs the solar system. There is a long scientific tradition of observing and studying the Sun but many fundamental questions remain unclear. For example, we still lack detailed understanding on why the outer solar atmosphere, the corona, is so hot (millions of degrees) while the solar surface is only few thousands of degrees. Furthermore, it is largely unkown how the corona is filled with mass and what drives the solar wind that supplies our planetary system with plasma and magnetic fields. It has been realised that a small layer in the solar atmosphere, the interface layer between the surface and the corona, may hold the key to answers to these questions. This interface layer, consisting of what is known as the chromosphere and transition region, is very shallow, only a few thousand kilometers but also very dynamic. Its complex dynamics are dominated by magnetic fields and radiative effects and is very challenging to understand. NASA has launched a small explorer spacecraft in the summer of 2013, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), which is specifically designed to observe this part of the solar atmosphere with unprecedented capabilities. However, IRIS is mostly sensitive to this small part of the atmosphere. We plan to provide key data that are essentially missing in the IRIS' arsenal: high-quality observations of the atmosphere below. These observations will be acquired through coordinated campaigns with the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope (SST) on La Palma. In addition, we will use large-scale, state of the art, computer simulations of the solar atmosphere in combination with advanced numerical tools to interpret the complex observational data. The combination of coordinated IRIS and SST observations and advanced numerical simulations will allow to construct a comprehensive picture of the solar atmosphere.
 

The Swedish 1-metre Solar Telescope (SST) on La Palma in the Canary Islands, one of the prime facilities for high resolution observations of the Sun. The solar physics group at ITA and RoCS has a long tradition of observing with the SST and has an annual quota of more than 40 observing days per year. 
Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph
IRIS in the clean room prior to launch in June 2013. The SOLDYN project has conducted a number of successful coordinated observing campaigns with IRIS and SST. During these campaigns, both telescopes are pointing at the same area on the Sun thus providing comprehensive measurements of the solar atmosphere over a extensive height range. (photo courtesy of Jim Dowdall / Lockheed Martin)

 

Financing

The SOLDYN project is funded by the University of Oslo and the Research Council of Norway and runs from January 2016 to February 2023.

Cooperation

The SOLDYN project is closely integrated in the Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics (RoCS). 

Publications

View all works in Cristin

  • Rouppe van der Voort, Luc (2021). Sola på nært hold. Astronomi. ISSN 0802-7587. p. 32–35.
  • Rouppe van der Voort, Luc (2021). Vulkanutbrudd på La Palma. Astronomi. ISSN 0802-7587. p. 55–55.
  • Rouppe van der Voort, Luc (2021). Signatures of ubiquitous magnetic reconnection in the deep atmosphere of sunspot penumbrae.
  • Bose, Souvik; de Jorge Henriques, Vasco Manuel; Joshi, Jayant & Rouppe van der Voort, Luc (2019). Characterization and formation of Ca II K and Mg II k spectra of spicules .
  • Rouppe van der Voort, Luc (2018). Alignment between IRIS and ground-based data.
  • Rouppe van der Voort, Luc (2018). Spicules with SST.
  • Froment, Clara; Antolin, Patrick; Henriques, V. M. J. & Rouppe van der Voort, Luc (2018). Multi-scale observations of thermal nonequilibrium cycles in coronal loops.
  • Froment, Clara; Antolin, Patrick; Henriques, V. M. J. & Rouppe van der Voort, Luc (2018). Multi-scale observations of thermal nonequilibrium cycles in coronal loops.
  • Bose, Souvik & Rouppe van der Voort, Luc (2021). On the dynamics of spicules and mass flows in the solar atmosphere. Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. ISSN 1501-7710.
  • Drews, Ainar; Rouppe van der Voort, Luc & Carlsson, Mats (2021). On microjets in sunspot penumbrae. Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. ISSN 1501-7710.

View all works in Cristin

Published May 23, 2019 2:21 PM - Last modified Dec. 11, 2023 2:30 PM

Participants

  • Luc Rouppe van der Voort University of Oslo
  • Vasco Manuel de Jorge Henriques University of Oslo
  • Jayant Joshi University of Oslo
  • Souvik Bose University of Oslo
  • Helle Bakke University of Oslo
Detailed list of participants

logo of the Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics with a yellow circle

Financing

logo of University of Oslo with Apollo symbol

logo of the Research council of Norway