Young researchers projects
Other projectsHeliSol
Improving the prediction of solar eruptions by measuring magnetic helicity
Magnetic helicity is one of the few conserved quantities in magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), the physical paradigm used to study the solar regions that cause eruptions and magnetic storms on Earth.
Although preliminary results underlined the key role of magnetic helicity in solar activity, measuring helicity remained limited due to its inherent complexity. By drawing on new measurement methods, HeliSol aimed to study in depth the quantity of magnetic helicity in the solar atmosphere based on both observations and advanced numerical 3D MHD simulations.
The HeliSol project thus highlighted a robust criterion determining the eruptivity of active solar regions, paving the way for detailed, deterministic prediction of solar eruptions.
ANR programme: Generic Call for Proposals
Edition, project duration: 2015, 48 months
ANR grant : € 301,600
Coordinator:
- Étienne Pariat
CNRS - Laboratoire d’Études Spatiales et d’Instrumentation en Astrophysique
etienne.pariat@obspm.fr
https://sites.lesia.obspm.fr/helisol/
Project region: Île-de-France
Main publication or contribution:
- “Relative magnetic helicity as a diagnostic of solar eruptivity”; Pariat, E.; Leake, J. E.; Valori, G.; Linton, M. G.; Zuccarello, F. P.; Dalmasse, K.; Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 601, id.A125, 16 pp., 2017. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201630043
- Communiqué de presse CNRS du 17 Mai 2017 :
- version française : http://www2.cnrs.fr/presse/communique/5037.htm
- version anglaise : http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/2923.htm
HeliSol should lead to improvements in the capacity of space weather forecasting centres to anticipate solar eruptions, moving from heuristic methods to deterministic forecasts, which will help protect human technologies that are sensitive to solar activity.