Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Detection Of Reconnection Signatures In Solar Flares, Taylor R. Whitney Aegerter, Daniel J. Emmons Ii, Robert D. Loper

Faculty Publications

Solar flare forecasting is limited by the current understanding of mechanisms that govern magnetic reconnection, the main physical phenomenon associated with these events. As a result, forecasting relies mainly on climatological correlations to historical events rather than the underlying physics principles. Solar physics models place the neutral point of the reconnection event in the solar corona. Correspondingly, studies of photospheric magnetic fields indicate changes during solar flares—particularly in relation to the field helicity—on the solar surface as a result of the associated magnetic reconnection. This study utilizes data from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) and …