Executive Summary : | The solar wind, a rarefied plasma emanating from the Sun's magnetized atmosphere, is an important open question in stellar astrophysics. The origins of the solar wind are crucial for understanding the processes responsible for mass and energy loss from the Sun and their influence on space weather. Recent developments suggest that both small and large-scale magnetic processes play a role in the formation of the solar wind. The main objective is to probe the physical mechanisms responsible for the origin of the solar wind and its acceleration to supersonic speeds of 300-800 km/s.
Key issues in connection to the origins of the solar wind include quantifying the dynamics and mass transfer from small-scale jets/spicules into the solar wind and investigating the underlying magnetic processes. Linking small-scale jets to large-scale magnetic phenomena streamers and pseudo-streamers will help understand how outflows from the inner corona become the solar wind. Data from the ESA-led Solar Orbiter and the Indian ADITYA-L1 mission will be used to address these issues. The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph VELC on ADITYA-L1 will perform continuum imaging, while the SUIT instrument will observe full disk images of the Sun in 11 filters. The project aims to develop software and numerical scripts, data archives, and new analysis techniques to enhance existing knowledge of the solar community.
The research teams on both sides possess in-house expertise in handling novel data, enabling them to exploit synergies between national projects of India and Germany. Networking will permit joint observing programs, complementing the uniqueness of each facility, leading to new and exciting science. |