Mapping Magnetic Fields in the Solar Interior

Objetivo

In the last century, the discovery of the Sun’s five-minute acoustic oscillations revolutionized our understanding of the solar interior. These oscillations revealed the location of the base of the convection zone and uncovered the Sun’s differential rotation, overturning long-held theories of the solar dynamo. Yet the fundamental question remains: what does the magnetic field look like inside the Sun?

The Sun’s magnetic field, shaped by the interaction of convection and rotation, drives solar activity and space weather. While surface magnetic fields have been measured for over a century, the deep subsurface magnetic field — the engine of the solar dynamo — remains out of reach to acoustic modes.

This project aims to measure the magnetic field deep in the solar interior through inertial-mode helioseismology, a new frontier in solar research pioneered by our group. Inertial modes, recently identified at the solar surface, are low-frequency oscillations whose sensitivity to both rotation and internal magnetic fields peaks deep inside the convection zone. They offer an unprecedented window into the solar dynamo region.

We will develop the observational, theoretical, and computational tools necessary to interpret the frequencies, eigenfunctions, and amplitudes of these modes, enabling us to infer the internal magnetic field throughout the solar cycle. Unlike acoustic modes, some inertial modes are self-excited and will require a treatment of their non-linear interaction with the mean flow and other modes.

By using inertial modes to, for the first time, seismically image subsurface magnetism, we aim to localize regions of magnetic field generation and storage and uncover their dynamical interactions with internal flows. This project will address one of the key remaining observational frontiers in solar physics and open a new chapter in the study of astrophysical dynamos.

Ámbito científico (EuroSciVoc)

Este proyecto aún no se ha clasificado con EuroSciVoc.
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