Magnetic Helicity and Flux Tube Dynamics in the Sun
by
Dibyendu Nandi(Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata)
→
Europe/Stockholm
Description
Helicity is a topological parameter relevant in many systems ranging
from the living world, to the physical world. Plausibly the most
apparent manifestation of helicity is knottiness, which is observed in
strings, to strands of DNA or in the swirl of fluids flows and
cyclonic convection. Magnetic flux tubes also have helicity, which is
a conserved quantity in ideal magnetohydrodynamic systems such as the
solar plasma. Because of its invariance, specifically in line-tied
closed flux systems, magnetic helicity can be a useful probe of flux
tube dynamics in the Sun’s convection zone. Moreover, the helicity of
magnetic flux systems may also play an important role in relaxation
dynamics leading to solar eruptive activity and the heating of the
solar corona. In this talk, based on observations of solar magnetic
fields I will discuss the role of magnetic helicity in constraining
flux tube dynamics in the convection zone and in driving solar
energetic processes.
