SPRG Seminars - Archive

November 1, 2005:

Realistic Constraints on Three New Classes of Solar Upper Transition Region Structures
Hakeem M. Oluseyi, The University of Alabama in Huntsville

The ultimate goal of the solar and stellar astrophysicist is to derive a model of stars’ structure that correctly describes their details from the core to the surface and out into its diffuse atmosphere. In the early 20 th century, the discovery of nuclear fusion was combined with realistic descriptions of radiative transfer to develop models which many believed had fulfilled this goal. However, the discovery of the hot outer layers of the sun: the corona, transition region, corona, and solar wind yielded such models inadequate. The interactions of magnetic fields with the diffuse outer atmospheres of the sun and stars generate an array of magnetohydrodynamic phenomena that have yet to be fully understood after over a half century of study. Indeed, the coronal heating problem is one of the most enduring unresolved problems in astrophysics. The solar transition region, in particular, has been extremely challenging to understand. In this talk I will describe recent advances in understanding the solar transition region and present a new model of the solar upper transition region that represents a significant departure from previous models.

[ Return to Seminars Page ]