CAREER: Bridging Modern Computational Capabilities and Observations of Solar Magnetic Fields with Expanding Solar Physics Education at the University of Hawaii

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

The PI plans to combine recent theories and modern computational capabilities with advanced magnetic observations at the Sun's visible surface to improve present knowledge of the coronal magnetic field, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and other manifestations of solar activity. He plans to coordinate a sophisticated modeling effort with existing observational solar research programs at the Institute for Astronomy (IfA) at the University of Hawaii. The PI also describes a program to educate science teachers and students about the Sun, the Earth, and their interactions, as well as provide effective outreach to the wider community, in order to promote solar physics literacy. The PI outlines a five-year research program focused on fundamental topics of solar and heliospheric physics, including the study of the stability and quasi-steady state properties of the coronal magnetic field, structure and evolution of the solar wind and IMF, leading causes of CMEs and their interaction with the ambient solar wind, and production of SEPs at CME-driven shocks and their transport through the heliosphere. The PI expects that these efforts will enable him to treat the underlying physics in a tightly-coupled manner, which may lead to major breakthroughs in solar physics research. Because these topics are interrelated, the PI's goal is to synergize modeling and observational efforts so that the cumulative scientific outcome will be greater than the sum of the individual efforts. The PI intends to bridge theory and numerical modeling with relevant observations in each topical investigation, to enable a comprehensive investigation with broad impact in the solar physics community. The author seeks to attract students in solar physics both locally and nationally, and integrate them into these research activities. He plans to develop a new graduate course in Solar and Stellar Magnetism at the IfA. The PI's vision includes establishing a summer school in solar physics, providing a foreign undergraduate to collaborate with REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) students at the IfA, creating graduate and postdoctoral research assistantships in solar physics at the IfA, providing public outreach through talks and seminars, and presenting these expanded IfA solar research and educational programs at non-PhD-granting colleges across the US.