UK Solar Physics Newsletter
Philippa Browning & Iain Hannah, Editors
May 16th 2016
Dear Colleagues,
Here are a few items which have come to our attention since the last Newsletter.
You can find this news also at the UKSP website:
http://www.uksolphys.org/news/last-15-days/
or the newsletter in full in our JISCMail archive:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/uksp
Iain ([log in to unmask])
Philippa ([log in to unmask])
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General News/UKSP Business:
- NAM/UKSP 2016 Reminder
Nuggets:
- RHESSI Science Nugget No. 273
Meetings/Workshops/Summer Schools:
- STFC Introductory Summerschool in Solar System Plasma Physics
- SOLARNET 5 School and Workshop: 1st Announcement
- SDO 2016 — Burlington, VT, Oct. 17-21 — Abstracts, Registration, Funding
- SHINE session on The Magnetic Nature of Solar Filaments
Jobs/Studentships:
- Postdoctoral research position in Solar Magnetohydrodynamics at the University of Dundee
- PhD Placement available
- Cofund Wales Research Fellowships
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General News/UKSP Business
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NAM/UKSP 2016 Reminder
from Iain Hannah (UKSP DC) [May 16, 2016]
Some updates on the upcoming NAM/UKSP meeting (27/06 to 01/07):
The programme for NAM 2016 has been finalised and has several UKSP sessions. If you haven't already heard from the chairs of your session please checkout the online schedule:
https://nam2016.org/science-programme
This year, on Wed 29th, there will be a separate UKSP networking lunch followed by the UKSP business meeting later that afternoon. As we have more time during the business meeting will have general updates on UKSP as well as a focus on missions and outreach. If anyone would like to give a short talk on outreach activities please contact Philippa Browning or Iain Hannah.
And finally, remember that the early registration deadline is this Friday, 20th May.
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Nuggets
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RHESSI Science Nugget No. 273
from Hugh Hudson [May 6, 2016]
“Electron acceleration and hard X-ray emission from SOL2013-11-09,” by Yuri Tsap and Galina Motorina. Testing the thick-target model in an interesting flare!
See
http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~tohban/wiki/index.php/RHESSI_Science_Nuggets
listing the current series, 2008-present, and
http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~tohban/nuggets/
for the original series, 2005-2008.
We publish these at roughly two-week intervals and welcome contributions,
which should be related, at least loosely, to RHESSI science.
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Meetings/Workshops/Summer Schools
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STFC Introductory Summerschool in Solar System Plasma Physics
from Ineke De Moortel [May 13, 2016]
The 2016 Introductory Summer School in Solar System Physics will be hosted by the Solar and Magnetospheric Theory Group at the University of St Andrews.
The School’s programme of lectures can be found at
http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~icsspp16/schedule.html
and is recommended for students starting their PhD in Solar System Physics.
Registration is now open and details can be found at
http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~icsspp16/registration.html
*** Deadline for Registration: 8th July 2016. ***
Full funding is available, on a first-come first-served basis, for STFC-supported and self-funding PhD students, with priority given to STFC students.
http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~icsspp16/index.html
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SOLARNET 5 School and Workshop: 1st Announcement
from Peter Keys [May 12, 2016]
Queen’s University Belfast will host the 5th SOLARNET summer school and workshop from the 25th of August to the 2nd of September 2016. The theme of the school is ‘Waves and Oscillations in the Solar Atmosphere’ and is open to PhD students and early career researchers. A workshop on ‘Heating in the Solar Atmosphere’ will directly follow the school. In line with previous SOLARNET schools, financial support is available for students.
The deadline for applications for financial support is the 30th of June 2016.
The registration deadline for both the school and the workshop is the 15th of July 2016. Please be aware that, due to space restrictions, numbers will be capped for both events.
Full details of the scientific program, the registration process and financial support can be found at our website:
https://star.pst.qub.ac.uk/wiki/doku.php/public/solarnet5/start
For any further queries please email: [log in to unmask]
Regards,
Peter Keys and Mihalis Mathioudakis
https://star.pst.qub.ac.uk/wiki/doku.php/public/solarnet5/start
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SDO 2016 — Burlington, VT, Oct. 17-21 — Abstracts, Registration, Funding
from Vanessa George [May 5, 2016]
SDO 2016: Unraveling the Sun’s Complexity
Oct. 17-21, 2016 * Burlington, VT
Living With a Star’s Solar Dynamics Observatory invites you to its 2016 Science Workshop “SDO 2016: Unraveling the Sun’s Complexity,” October 17-21, 2016, at the Sheraton Conference Center in Burlington, VT. All members of the science community are welcome and encouraged to attend. To submit your abstract, reserve your hotel room, register, apply for a Metcalf Travel Award, or review the science program details, please visit our website: http://SDO2016.lws-sdo-workshops.org.
Important Due Dates:
Abstracts: July 15
Metcalf Travel Award Applications: June 15
Early Registration & Hotel Reservation: September 16
Abstracts are solicited for presentations describing solar research in the following eight broad areas: 1) Motions Inside the Sun, 2) The Evolution of Active Regions, 3) Studies of Solar Eruptive Events (SEEs), 4) Motions Near and Above the Solar Surface, 5) Atmospheric Dynamics and Sources of the Solar Wind, 6) Solar Magnetic Variability and the Solar Cycle, 7) The Sun as a Star, and 8) Space Weather at the Earth and other Planets.
With a great science program and Vermont’s beautiful fall foliage in mid-October, we hope you make plans to join us. Submit your abstract today!
Sincerely,
The Scientific Organizing Committee for SDO 2016:
W. Dean Pesnell (chair), Charles Baldner, Mark Cheung, Frank Eparvier, Meng Jin, Aimee Norton, and Barbara Thompson
http://SDO2016.lws-sdo-workshops.org.
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SHINE session on The Magnetic Nature of Solar Filaments
from james mcateer [May 2, 2016]
I would like to invite you to our session on magnetic fields in solar filaments at this years’ SHINE meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 11-15 2016.
http://shinecon.org/CurrentMeeting.php
We will discuss modern and future instrumentation and modeling of filaments, and their role in CME propagation and CME geoeffectiveness.
SHINE presents an opportunity for an open and frank discussion on important research topics. As such we do not have formal presentations. But if you would like to showcase how your research addresses this topic, send me an email with the details. We hope you can come along and provide input to this discussion on the magnetic nature of solar filaments, and play a role in all the SHINE sessions in Santa Fe.
The SHINE session will discuss the magnetic nature of solar filaments, focusing on two overarching science questions.
What is the magnetic field configuration of unstable solar filaments?
How does the magnetic field in erupting filaments manifest in disturbances at 1AU?
Given the impact of filament eruptions throughout the heliosphere, the objective of this session is to clarify where our understanding of filament magnetic structure and most importantly its destabilization, lies. We seek to engage experts in spectropolarimetry instrumentation, flux rope modeling, CME propagation observations, and Space Weather predictions in a discussion on solar filament magnetic fields. We seek to determine the future requirements in instrumentation and modeling that are necessary to replace ad-hoc (often missing) input of filament magnetic fields with near-realtime data. The interaction of the filament magnetic field (and that of the magnetic cloud) with the background solar wind plays a key role in predicting Bz at 1AU.
Solar filaments remain an enigma in the three important interconnected aspects of formation, structure, and stability. They form suddenly and quite spontaneously, sometimes in regions of preexisting magnetic flux and sometimes in regions of quiet Sun, but always over magnetic neutral lines. As they are cold dense chromospheric plasma surrounded by the hot, low density corona, their structure should both thermalize and collapse soon after formation. However they can be stable for several complete solar rotations. Conditions postulated to explain this stability, must simultaneously allow for the sudden and rapid removal of this stability as a large scale energy release in the form of a coronal mass ejection.
It is clear that magnetism plays a fundamental role in all three stages: it is the nature of magnetism to form linear, sheared structures that allows for their formation; the lack of cross- field drift in the structure shields the filament plasma from the rest of the corona; magnetism can suddenly rearrange its structure with a sudden loss of stability. However this magnetic field is currently only included as an ad-hoc input in our models (and is often ignored altogether). In this session we will address the key elements of what data we can currently input into models, how this could be implemented, and what future data may become available soon .
R.T.James McAteer, NMSU
Valentin Pillet, NSO
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Jobs/Studentships
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Postdoctoral research position in Solar Magnetohydrodynamics at the University of Dundee
from David Pontin [May 7, 2016]
Applications are invited for a three-year postdoctoral research position in the area of Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The position is available to work on a project within an STFC consolidated grant to study the behaviour of complex magnetic fields in the solar corona. Topics will include studying the topology of coronal magnetic fields and determining the effect of reconnection on the dynamics of these fields.
The successful candidates will join a dynamic MHD group at Dundee that consists of three permanent members of staff (Prof G. Hornig, Drs D. Pontin and A. Russell), a postdoctoral fellow, Dr S. Candelaresi, and three PhD students. The projects are funded as part of a Consortium that also includes Dr A. Yeates at the University of Durham. Further details about our group in Dundee can be found here:
http://www.maths.dundee.ac.uk/mhd/
The ideal candidate will have a good knowledge of MHD and will have extensive experience in either one or both of the following: (i) computational MHD/hydrodynamics and code development, (ii) mathematical modelling of plasmas or fluids. Experience in solar physics observations would also be beneficial. Applicants must hold a PhD in solar physics, plasma physics or applied mathematics by the start of the project.
The position is available for three years, from July 1st 2016. The starting salary will be on Grade 7 of the UK Universities’ pay scale, around GBP 30-35K, depending on experience.
For further details, or to make an application, please go to http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AUE807/postdoctoral-research-assistant-school-of-science-and-engineering/.
Informal enquiries can be direct to Dr David Pontin [log in to unmask]
Closing date: 5th June 2016
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AUE807/postdoctoral-research-assistant-school-of-science-and-engineering/
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PhD Placement available
from Alan Hood [May 5, 2016]
Due to a late withdrawl, there is now an STFC studentship available at the University of St Andrews to start in September 2016. Please pass this on to any student you know who is interested in Solar Physics. There are a wide range of possible projects, from flux emergence, active region evolution, coronal heating, magentic reconnection, MHD waves through to global field modelling.
Any students interested in a PhD studentship should contact Prof Alan Hood ([log in to unmask]).
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Cofund Wales Research Fellowships
from Huw Morgan [May 4, 2016]
Cofund Wales offers funding for 3-year research fellowships, based on a proposal-based competition. The scheme is open to researchers with a PhD and 3-5 years of Post-Doc experience. The Physics Department at Aberystwyth University welcomes expressions of interest from eligible candidates active in solar, coronal or solar wind research. Any successful fellowships will be based at Aberystwyth University, Wales. Please contact Huw Morgan ([log in to unmask]) for more information: before May 27th.
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