Although located at 150 million kilometers from Earth, the Sun is in our immediate neighborhood compared with all other stars. The observation of the Sun along the decades has provided amazingly detailed views of the structure and day-to-day life of a star; the high-resolution observations achieved from Earth and space in recent years, in particular, have facilitated reaching deep theoretical insights concerning the structure and evolution of stellar atmospheres and interiors.
The Sun constitutes a physics laboratory where the complex interactions between the matter (atoms, electrons and ions, or molecules) and the magnetic field can be studied in conditions difficult to reach in devices on Earth. Of particular interest for the public are the spectacular phenomena displayed by its atmosphere, its role in generating the magnetized clouds that, after traversing the interplanetary space, can impact on Earth's magnetosphere and lead to the potentially dangerous solar storms, and the mysteries of the solar interior. Understanding of all those phenomena is gained by a combination of refined theoretical methods and direct or indirect observation using leading-edge technologies.
The solar physics group at the IAC enjoys a leadership position in different branches of solar research in the world. This is exemplified by the award of four large research grants by the European Research Council in the past years to researchers of the group, by its leading role in the European Solar Telescope project, and by its participation in other international networks and instrument projects. Globally, the group combines theoretical methods (magneto-fluid dynamics and plasma physics, radiation transfer), including 3D numerical radiation-MHD modeling, and state-of-the-art observational and diagnostic techniques, to achieve deep understanding of what constitutes and drives the structure and activity of our star.
Solar Physics (FS)
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StayDRA. NATALIA SHCHUKINA (Main Astronomical Observatory of the NASU, Ukraine)Dr. Natalia Shchukina is a member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) and a senior scientist at the Department of Solar Physics of the Main...
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PublicationDrift wave stabilized by an additional streaming ion or plasma populationIt is shown that the universally unstable kinetic drift wave in an electron-ion plasma can very effectively be suppressed by adding an extra flowing ion (or...
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PublicationEditorial Appreciation
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PublicationEffect of momentum and heat losses on the hydrodynamic instability of a premixed equidiffusive flame in a Hele-Shaw cellThe linear stage of hydrodynamic instability of a laminar premixed flame propagating in a Hele-Shaw cell is investigated. Our theoretical model takes into...
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PublicationEffect of partial ionization on wave propagation in solar magnetic flux tubesObservations show that waves are ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere and may play an important role for plasma heating. The study of waves in the solar corona is...
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PublicationEffects of Spectral Resolution on Simple Magnetic Field Diagnostics of the Mg II H and K LinesWe study the effects of finite spectral resolution on the magnetic field values retrieved through the weak-field approximation (WFA) from the cores of the Mg II...
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PublicationEmergence of Internetwork Magnetic Fields through the Solar AtmosphereInternetwork (IN) magnetic fields are highly dynamic, short-lived magnetic structures that populate the interior of supergranular cells. Since they emerge all...
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PublicationEmergence of Small-scale Magnetic Loops Through the Quiet Solar AtmosphereWe investigate the emergence of magnetic flux in the quiet Sun at very small spatial scales, focusing on the magnetic connection between the photosphere and...
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PublicationEmpirical determination of atomic line parameters of the 1.5 μm spectral regionContext. Both the quality and amount of astrophysical data are steadily increasing over time owing to the improvement of telescopes and their instruments. This...