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- A pledge of frequency: a new device will unlock the mystery of the origin of solar flares
A pledge of frequency: a new device will unlock the mystery of the origin of solar flares
Russian researchers have developed scientific equipment and a hardware and software system for observing the Sun from the International Space Station (ISS). The new device will register radiation in the terahertz range. As scientists suggest, this will help to identify previously unknown components of the processes that may be largely responsible for the formation of solar flares. The experiment will help better predict space weather and magnetic storms on Earth, the developers told Izvestia.
How solar flares originate
Scientists from the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FIAN) have developed equipment and hardware-software complex to observe the Sun from the ISS in the terahertz range. The equipment is planned to be sent to the space station in 2025, and experts will start research in the first half of next year.
Such an experiment will be conducted for the first time in the world. Experts believe that the observations will help to identify previously unknown characteristics of the processes of energy release, which are largely responsible for the formation of flares - emissions streams of charged particles, plasma and bursts of electromagnetic radiation - in the atmosphere of the Sun.
As the researchers explained, the terahertz band - the region of the spectrum between 1 trillion and 10 trillion hertz - lies between visible and microwave radiation. Until recently, the Sun in this range has not been studied, because, on the one hand, the atmosphere almost does not pass terahertz radiation, and therefore for a ground-based observer to register it is almost impossible. On the other hand, there were no reliable detectors to register these frequencies. However, studies in the adjacent "neighboring" frequency range revealed a number of unusual effects.
- Analysis of the data made it possible to establish that during strong solar flares, the radiation spectrum in the terahertz region does not correlate with other bands. In particular, when in the microwave spectrum at frequencies above 70-100 GHz observed a significant decrease in fluxes in the terahertz part, on the contrary, found an increase in radiation fluxes- told "Izvestia" project leader, head of the laboratory of solar physics and cosmic rays FIAN Vladimir Makhmutov.
He explained that such effects may indicate incipient processes of accumulation and release of energy, which lead to the development of solar flares, accompanied by significant flows of submillimeter and terahertz radiation.
Vladimir Makhmutov, Head of the Laboratory of Solar and Cosmic Ray Physics at FIAN
Such physical phenomena can occur in a thin layer of the chromosphere, above the visible photosphere, where most of the sunlight is produced. This region of the star's atmosphere is inaccessible for direct observation, so studying the Sun in the terahertz range will help scientists better understand the processes that provoke flares not it.
How the device will help predict magnetic storms
The facts that have emerged, the scientist emphasized, currently have not found a sufficient theoretical explanation. That is why the data that will be obtained during the experiment on board the ISS are of such great importance.
- The device, which will be installed on the station, consists of eight detectors. Each of them is tuned to its own narrow range of frequencies within the terahertz region of the spectrum. The equipment will be sent into orbit later this year. During a planned session of extravehicular activity, cosmonauts will place it on the outside of the Russian segment of the station. Scientists will receive the first data for scientific analysis next year. The experiment is designed for three years," said Vladimir Makhmutov.
In his opinion, the results of research in the future can be used to develop a system for forecasting space weather and magnetic storms on Earth.
At the same time, as explained by the scientist, in orbit sensors will be in the visibility zone of the Sun for about a quarter of each revolution of the ISS around the Earth. The rest of the time the receivers will be directed into deep space. This will help to study the so-called background radiation of the starry sky in the terahertz range and possibly obtain new information about the processes of star formation, galaxy evolution and other astrophysical events.
In the future, Vladimir Makhmutov suggested, taking into account the results of the experiment, more sensitive instruments of this class will be developed to register distant astrophysical objects. In addition to studying space objects, they may be in demand to identify active processes in the Earth's crust. This will help specialists to better predict volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
- The terahertz range is one of the least studied regions of the solar spectrum. These waves are well absorbed by water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere. Therefore, observations from orbit- more accurate and detailed, - said Deputy Director for scientific work of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory Alexander Volvach.
The scientist explained that the planned experiment can give new information about energy processes on the Sun and the acceleration of particles in the solar atmosphere. Thus, in the course of recent studies, scientists have identified a new spectral component of radiation, which differs from the known. It is a mystery and requires further study.
- Russian scientists play an important role in the world science in the field of solar physics. However, at the moment, our country has practically no instruments for the study of the Sun placed in space. The introduction of a device equipped with terahertz detectors on the ISS will partially fill this gap," Anatoly Petrukovich, director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, commented to Izvestia.
According to him, such experiments are interesting, because previously no one has not observed the nearest star to us in this region of the spectrum and without interference from the Earth's atmosphere. Regions of solar plasma with different temperature, density, magnetic field differently "shine" in radiation with different wavelengths. Therefore, combining observation in different ranges, you can get more information about the processes on the Sun. Perhaps, thanks to the new devices scientists will find the precursors of solar flares.
The expert noted that the development of devices always proceeds in stages and, if the FIAN experiment gives good results, in the future it will be used as a basis for building more advanced equipment for space research in the terahertz range.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
