Chromospheric and coronal jets represent important manifestations of ubiquitous solar transients, which may be the source of significant mass and energy input to the upper solar atmosphere and the solar wind. While the energy involved in a jet-like event is smaller than that of "nominal" solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), jets share many common properties with these major phenomena, in particular, the explosive magnetically driven dynamics. Studies of jets, therefore, can provide critical insight for understanding the larger, more complex drivers of the solar activity. On the other side of the size-spectrum, the study of jets could also supply important clues on the physics of transients close or at the limit of the current spatial resolution such as spicules. Furthermore, the jet phenomenon may be a basic process for heating the corona and accelerating the solar wind; consequently their study gives us the opportunity to attack a broad range of solar-heliospheric problems.

Over the last decade, observations from space (Yohkoh, SOHO, STEREO, Hinode, and SDO) and from groundbased observatories have inspired an ever-growing interest in transients like jets. However, many aspects of these jets remain elusive: discrepancies between observations and models remain unresolved; driving mechanisms have not been clarified; some of their physical properties are at best known for limited samples, etc. Recent discoveries suggest also that different types of small-scale active events (e.g., spicules, EUV- and X-ray jets, bright points, and plumes) may be closely related. However, the exact nature of these inter-relationship(s), the plasma properties, the magnetic structure, and the magnetic topology of these features, as well as their formation process and evolution still remain unclear. The aim of the proposed team is to consolidate and enhance our knowledge on the properties of chromospheric and coronal jets from both observational and modeling points of view.

The objectives of our team include:

1. Advance our understanding of the triggering and driving mechanisms of solar jets;
2. Determine the physical properties and the magnetic set-ups of jets through statistical studies using data from SDO, Hinode, STEREO, IRIS, ...;
3. Compare, constrain, and drive numerical models using observational measurements;
4. Study the nature of inter-relationship between jets and other solar structures such as plumes and bright points;
5. Determine their net role in producing and maintaining the observed upper solar atmosphere and solar wind.

Our team has pioneered several of the topics addressed by this proposal. This provides us with a unique perspective in our understanding of the problems and the approaches to resolve them. We have extensive expertise in data analysis and MHD simulations to achieve the objectives of this research.

Link to the Proposal

Created, 1 Jan. 2013 by N.-E. Raouafi