This three-year award will support U.S.-France cooperative research in solar physics between A. Gordon Emslie of the University of Alabama and Jean-Claude Henoux of the Paris Observatory in Meudon. The objective of their research is to modify and develop a conventional thick-target model of the solar flare. They will investigate the flow of electric currents and plasma during solar flares using the Polarimeter for Active Region Instability Studies (PARIS) telescope in Meudon. PARIS data and soft X-ray line data from the Yohkoh satellite will be compared. The U.S. investigator brings to this collaboration expertise in the computational studies of solar flares. This is complemented by the French investigator's expertise in solar physics and his studies of electric current generation. The project will advance understanding and knowledge of the mechanisms of solar flares and the conditions leading to this phenomenon.
