Research Projects

The near-Earth space weather: the time varying conditions of the space including the magnetosphere, ionosphere, thermosphere and exosphere is partiallydriven by the transient magnetic activities of the Sun and can directly harm spacecraft electronics, maintenance of satellite orbits and satnav among others. The solar transients relevant to space weather are mainly energetically large solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Standardly, rearrangementsof magnetic connectivity, or magnetic reconnections (MRs), localized at active region corona are believed to onset the transients. A contextual exploration of the physics of MRs is then of utmost importance to better understand the space-weather. In absence of reliable measurements of solar coronal magnetic field, the project proposes to explore the coronal MRs using state of the art computer simulations. Specifically, the numerical work will focus on extrapolating coronal magnetic fields from photospheric fields measured by various satellites and generating three - dimensional magnetic maps. The maps will further be used in constructing magnetic field lines which are believed to traceplasma loopsthreading the solar corona. A morphological study of the magnetic field lines will identify locations in active regions which are prone to magnetic reconnections and hence, will directly relate to the flare productivity of the region. Additionally, identification of coherent twisted field lines—known as magnetic flux ropes—will provide partial information regarding the CME productivity of the region. Overall, the project will provide details of solar transients which drive the space weather and help to better understand it.