New patterns in Sun’s layers could help scientists solve solar mystery

• New research from an international team may explain one of the biggest conundrums in astrophysics – why the outermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere is hotter than the surface
• Groundbreaking data collected from the world's most powerful solar telescopes shows a snake-like pattern in the Sun’s magnetic fields that could contribute to the heating of the Sun’s outermost atmosphere
• The project, which includes scientists across a wide range of institutions on both sides of the Atlantic ocean, has opened new avenues in solar physics

In a groundbreaking development, astronomers have made significant strides in understanding the enduring mysteries of the Sun’s magnetic field.

The US National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Daniel K Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) in Hawaii, the world’s most powerful solar telescope, has collected unprecedented data from the Sun’s ‘quiet’ surface.

The research, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, was supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, Horizon 2020, and the National Science Foundation, USA.

How energy is transferred between Sun’s layers

An international team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Sheffield, believe this data could shed light on how energy is transferred between the Sun’s layers. This could potentially explain why the Sun’s outermost layer or ‘corona’ is hundreds of times hotter than its surface or ‘photosphere’, a long-standing conundrum in astrophysics.

Professor Robertus Erdelyi, a senior co-investigator from the University of Sheffield’s School of Mathematics and Statistics, said that the observations have revealed a serpentine topology of the magnetic field in the lower solar atmosphere or chromosphere.

He added that these magnetic fields might be responsible for energising the solar plasma to temperatures of millions of Kelvins and driving Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), the largest and most powerful explosions in our Solar System.

The project led by Queen’s University Belfast in collaboration with several international institutions harnessed DKIST’s power to reveal a new, complex, snake-like pattern of energy in the magnetic field. The researchers detected an unexpected pattern consistent with a snake-like variation in the magnetic orientation.

The research suggests that away from sunspots, the ‘quiet sun’ covered in convective cells known as ‘granules’ harbours much weaker but more dynamic magnetic fields that may hold the secrets to balancing the energy budget of the chromosphere.

Powerful solar optical telescope

Professor Michail Mathioudakis, Co-Investigator on the research and Director of ARC at Queen’s said that the more complex small-scale variations in magnetic-field direction make it more plausible that energy is being released through a process called magnetic reconnection. This process occurs when two magnetic fields pointing in opposite directions interact and release energy that contributes to atmospheric heating.

“We have used the most powerful solar optical telescope in the world to reveal the most complex magnetic-field orientations ever seen at the smallest scales. This brings us closer to understanding one of the biggest conundrums in solar research.

Professor Erdelyi added, “Thanks to this research we may be one step closer in comprehending the Sun, our life-giving star.

"These are fantastic results achieved by a combination of junior and senior scientists across a wide range of institutions at both sides of the Atlantic ocean. The DKIST solar telescope, the largest of its kind, has opened revolutionary new avenues in solar physics.”

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