SPRG Seminars
March 30, 2010:
" Adventures in Solar Magnetic Field Modeling "
Marc DeRosa - LMSAL
The magnetic field of the sun plays a role in many current areas of focus in the field of heliophysics. Topics of interest range from the inner workings of the solar dynamo, to the transfer and release of energy from the interior into the chromosphere and corona, to the formation and acceleration of the solar wind. That such topics remain intense areas of investigation is partly due to the difficulties associated with actually measuring the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field over much of the volume of the solar interior, chromosphere, and corona. As a result, magnetic field models are becoming an increasingly important tool that aids in attempts to understand the structure and dynamics of many solar phenomena; however, in many cases magnetic field models are fraught with difficulties of their own. In this talk, I will relate my own experiences in modeling the photospheric and coronal magnetic fields, and assess the utility of these various models in helping to interpret the various types of imagery and spectra the suite of solar observatories will continue to provide.