This project will support the postdoctoral research of Ofer Cohen at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Dr. Cohen will investigate the role of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on the long-term evolution of the solar magnetic field and the solar cycle. Since the detailed mechanism causing solar open field reversal is unknown, the Principal Investigator (PI) will numerically test the hypothesis that interchange reconnection of CMEs with the ambient open magnetic flux can lead to the destruction of coronal holes and the reversal of the Sun's open magnetic field. Using MHD simulations, Dr. Cohen and his team will investigate how magnetic flux emerges through the solar surface and then is transferred by CMEs to reconnect with, and to modify, the background magnetic field.
The long-term evolution of the solar magnetic field and the solar cycle are important for predicting space weather. Understanding the behavior of CMEs and their propagation is also required in order to develop predictive tools. The PI anticipates that this research on CMEs will shed light on the long-term effect of CMEs on the solar magnetic field and on the effect of the ambient field on CME propagation. This work addresses SHINE objectives to understand the processes by which energy is produced by the Sun and by which particles are accelerated in interplanetary space, as well as to study the mechanisms by which fields and particles are transported to the Earth through the inner heliosphere. The PI will undertake active modeling of the solar corona and the space environment.
