NJIT Physics Department Seminar

May 2nd, Monday, 2016

Explosions on the Sun: New Insights from Recent Radio Observations

Prof. Bin Chen

Dept. of Physics, NJIT

(Solar Physics)

Time: 11:45am-12:45pm with 11:30am tea time

Room: ECE 202

Abstract:

The seemingly benign Sun fills the entire solar system with a continuous stream of charged particles, and from time to time, produces powerful explosions known as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These explosions can affect the Earth and near-Earth environment and drive the “weather” in the space, which have increasingly important impacts on our modern society. Understanding the fundamental physical processes behind these explosions can aid in constraining the origin of these space weather drivers. In addition, a detailed knowledge of these events can help us interpret other massive explosions that occur in the deep Universe but are otherwise difficult to observe. Observations at different wavelengths provide a wealth of diagnostics for these explosions. My presentation will focus on studies toward the long-wavelength end of the electromagnetic spectrum: radio waves. Results made by a new generation of radio telescopes will be highlighted, including our work that was recently published in Science.