Dear Colleagues

The 2015 LWS TR&T Steering Committee has begun discussion about the next round of LWS focused science topics, and strategic capability topics. We are asking the Heliophysics community to provide input for possible topics by May 10, 2015.

Since 2013, we have begun to organize our science topics around  achieving the goals associated with strategic science areas first articulated in the 2013 LWS report, lwstrt.gsfc.nasa.gov/LWS_2013_SCReport.pdf along with the sun-climate theme,

• SSA-1, Physics-based Geomagnetic Forecasting Capability 
• SSA-2, Physics-based Satellite Drag Forecasting Capability
• SSA-3, Physics-based Solar Energetic Particle Forecasting Capability
• SSA-4, Physics-based TEC Forecasting Capability
• SSA-5, Physics-based Scintillation Forecasting Capability
• SSA-6, Physics-based Radiation Environment Forecasting Capability

The structure of a topic should indicate a target description, the targeted SSA (or the sun-climate theme), goals and measures of success, types of investigations, interactions with user communities and expected deliverables.

Input may be entered through the LWS TR&T website:

lwstrt.gsfc.nasa.gov/trt_futureft.php

We greatly look forward to your input and to continuing on the path of innovation and scientific exploration in the LWS program. 

LWS Steering Committee Members

Members:
Nathan Schwadron (Chair), Anderson, Brian, John Leibacher, Jon Linker, Linton, Mark, Lopez, Ramon, Scott McIntosh, Fabrizio Sassi, Karel Schrijver, W. Kent Tobiska, Daniel Weimer, Eftyhia  Zesta

Liaisons:
Madhulika Guhathakurta, Bob Leamon, Spiro Antiochos, Therese Jorgenson, Masha Kuznetsova, Kent Miller, Slava Lukin, Terry Onsager, Ilya Roussev, Dean Pesnell, David Sibeck, Chris St Cyr, Adam Szabo, Rodney Viereck 

Best regards

Nathan Schwadron

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The NASA Heliophysics Science and Technology Roadmap for 2014 – 2033 is available online at science.nasa.gov/heliophysics/ 
 

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“RHESSI Detection of X-ray Emission from a Quiet-Sun Filament Eruption,” by Gordon Holman and Adi Foord: A RHESSI flare is detected outside an active region.

See
sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~tohban/wiki/index.php/RHESSI_Science_Nuggets

listing the current series, 2008-present, and

sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~tohban/nuggets/

for the original series, 2005-2008.

We publish these at roughly two-week intervals and welcome contributions,
which should be related, at least loosely, to RHESSI science.

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ESA solicits proposals for participation in the NASA-led IRIS mission from
scientists working in ESA Member States, under the form of Science Planners.
The AO (scicms.esa.int/science-e/www/object/doc.cfm?fobjectid=55691) can be found here (sci.esa.int/jump.cfm?oid=55679).  Proposals shall be submitted electronically in PDF format to IRISSciencePlanner@cosmos.esa.int and must be received not later than 8 May 2015, 12:00 (noon) CEST.

For more information and contacts for further queries see the Announcement of
Opportunity.

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Available PhD position on solar and stellar variability at LPC2E et the University of Orléans, France. Deadline for application :  24 April 2015.

Solar and stellar variability: analysis of photospheric and chromospheric activities

Many stars, including the Sun, are characterized by a strong magnetic activity that generates different types of phenomenon –from eruptions to the variation of their total and ultraviolet radiative output in particular- and can influence the conditions for life emergence and stability as well as impact the technology infrastructures on Earth. Stellar activity can also hide or biases the detection and characterization of exoplanets.

Stellar activity manifests itself by the apparition and evolution of magnetic structures (called fluxtube) that have different brightness than their surrounding and cause the variations the stellar radiative flux.  The contrast of the magnetic structures varies with the considered layer of the stellar atmosphere (and therefore with wavelengths), the intensity of the magnetic field, and the position of the structure on the stellar disk. These structures are usually identified as spots (dark), faculae (bright), and plages or active regions in the chromosphere. The later in particular radiate ultraviolet light that is important for the chemistry of planetary atmosphere.

The research project consists first in investigating the link between the solar photospheric and chromospheric variabilities by analyzing the data from the NASA SDO mission. These data provide information on the magnetic field in the photosphere as well as the brightness of the magnetic structure in the photosphere and the chromosphere. The student will investigate the contrast of different features and their dependence on several parameters (position, solar activity, wavelengths, ...); the contributions of these various structures to the changes of the solar irradiance will be investigated as well. The student will benefit from the work that has already been done in our group with these data and our expertise on solar irradiance variability.

In a second part of the thesis, the student will focus on stellar activity. Different approach can be considered. A first possibility is to rely on the results previously obtained to study to what extent the relationships found in the solar case can -or not- be extrapolated to other stars, taking into account different physical parameters. Another possibility consists in studying the correlations of different indices of stellar activity using SOPHIE and HARPS data.

The thesis will take place at Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of the Environment and Space (LPC2E) within the “space plasmas” team that studies the solar-terrestrial relationships, and will be in collaboration with the FOST team of the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble (IPAG), which works on stellar activity and the detection of exoplanets. The student will be required to travel to Grenoble and abroad to go to workshops and present his findings at conferences. Orléans is a medium size city located one hour south of Paris in the Loire Valley. The starting date is October 2015. The net monthly salary, including health insurance, is about 1400 euros monthly net without teaching and 1650 euros with teaching (nb: teaching must be done in french).

Candidates are required to have a Master’s degree in Physics or an equivalent degree. A specialization in astrophysics would help but is not strictly required. Previous experience with data analysis and programming in IDL/MATLAB is a plus. Good communication skills in written and spoken English are necessary.

Interested applicants must send a detailed CV and a letter summarizing their background and motivation for the subject to matthieu.kretzschmar@cnrs-orleans.fr no later than April 24, 2015. Successful applicants will be interviewed by the graduate school of Orléans on May 19, 2015.

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The PROBA2 team welcomes research proposals for the sixth round of its Guest Investigator program for research based on SWAP and LYRA data analysis by scientists outside the SWAP and LYRA PI-teams. We encourage in particular young post-docs and PhD students to apply, although more senior guest investigators’ proposals are welcome also. In this round we anticipate funding for around six guest investigators or teams who will visit the PROBA2 Science Center at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, in Brussels, between August 2015 and April 2016.

Selected proposers will be invited to spend a few weeks with the PI teams to obtain expert knowledge on the instruments, to participate in the daily commanding of the SWAP and LYRA instruments according to the needs of their data analysis proposal, and to conduct their research. Guest investigators may be reimbursed for travel, accommodation and living expenses up to a maximum of 5000 euro. Limited support to present the results at an international conference (during the visit at P2SC) can also be considered.

During the selection process, special consideration will be given to young scientists and PhD students, collaborative research teams with members from more than one research institute (funding above the 5000 euro level may be approved for such teams), and to proposals addressing research topics to which SWAP and LYRA are particularly well-suited.

More details about the application process can be found here:

proba2.oma.be/SixthGICall

or by emailing: swap_lyra@oma.be

Deadline: Proposals must be received by May 31, 2015

The PROBA2 team

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Durham University (UK) requires a Postdoctoral Research Associate to work on a computational project under PI Anthony Yeates, entitled “Photospheric driving of non-potential coronal magnetic field simulations”, funded by the US Air Force Office for Scientific Research. Applicants with experience in any aspect of solar magnetic modelling are encouraged.

For further details see the website
ig5.i-grasp.com/fe/tpl_durham01.asp?newms=jj&id=92112
or contact Anthony Yeates (anthony.yeates@durham.ac.uk).

The post is fixed term until 1 September 2017, and the closing date for applications is 14 May 2015.

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The Research Center for Astronomy and Applied Mathematics (RCAAM) of the Academy of Athens in Athens, Greece, invites applications for two (2) postdoctoral researcher positions in the FLARECAST space-weather forecasting project funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Programme. The appointments are scheduled to start during the second half of 2015 and will run for a total period of 2.5 years, with an expiration date of December 31, 2017.

The Flare Likelihood and Region Eruption Forecasting (FLARECAST) space weather project involves an 8-partner European consortium that aims to advance the state-of-the-art in solar flare prediction. The project’s primary objectives are to (1) understand the drivers of flare activity and improve flare prediction, (2) provide a globally accessible flare prediction service that facilitates expansion and (3) engage with space-weather end users and inform policy makers and the public. To do this, FLARECAST will combine key flare-predictive properties of solar active regions with flare prediction algorithms using supervised and unsupervised machine-learning methods and statistical techniques. At the same time, the project will be operating and exploiting its own voluminous data archive through sophisticated data-mining techniques.

Detailed information for this post can be found at the following link:

www.academyofathens.gr/ecportal.asp?id=3536&nt=105&lang=2

The deadline for applications, via sealed envelope mailed to the Academy of Athens, is 12pm (Greek summer time) on May 15, 2015.

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The next RHESSI Workshop (number XIV in the series) will be held in Newark, NJ, USA, from August 11-15, 2015. As is customary, this workshop will consist of a blend of plenary sessions and group sessions, with ample opportunity for discussion and interaction. Topics to be addressed in the groups include radio and hard X-ray flares, the flare thermal response, electron acceleration/thick-target modeling, ion acceleration and Fermi LAT events, and magnetic evolution.  There will also be a topical session on new instrumentation.

The meeting website is now open at ovsa.njit.edu/rhessi14/index.html , and the registration page at ovsa.njit.edu/rhessi14/register.html is now open. No registration fee is due at this time; registration fees will be collected on-site.  The abstract submission and registration deadlines are both June 1.

So, please register, submit an abstract/group preference if you have not already done so, and I look forward to seeing you in New Jersey !

Gordon Emslie
RHESSI Workshop Convenor

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A consortium of universities and institutes are preparing a plan to retain and reinvent the Dunn Solar Telescope and Sunspot facility after 2017.
We have had discussions with several interested partners, including NSF and NSO, and universities from the US and abroad. Our vision is to form a consortium to keep this important facility available for a combination of research, training, education, instrumentation, workshops, and public outreach. Other research directions, such as solar system studies, are also up for consideration.

We are now soliciting new and creative ideas and suggestions for these activities and we warmly invite anyone interested in joining to assist in any aspects of this endeavor to join our consortium. We invite input of your thoughts, questions, and input as we move forward.

Most importantly, we seek core partners that can commit to pursing avenues to provide a portion of the necessary financial resources to the long-term operation of the DST.

We are holding a 1-day workshop at Sunspot, NM on Wednesday, May 27 to discuss detailed plans. This is an open meeting and everyone is invited to attend.

Please direct inquiries to mcateer@nmsu.edu
James McAteer
New Mexico State University
on behalf of all the consortium partners.

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ISSS Course on “Heliospheric physical processes for understanding Solar-Terrestrial Relations”
21-26 September 2015 – L’Aquila (Italy)

The International School of Space Science of the Consorzio Interuniversitario per la Fisica Spaziale organizes a Course on “Heliospheric physical processes for understanding Solar-Terrestrial Relations”, to be held in L’Aquila, Italy, September 21-26, 2015, and directed by V. Carbone, G. Consolini and T. Dudok de Wit.
A good understanding of solar-terrestrial processes is fundamental to modelling the influence of solar variability on the Earth’s environment and climate. To capture all the physical aspects of the solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere interaction, and also the impact of solar variability on climate, the Sun-Earth system has to be studied as a whole. The main purpose of this school is to provide graduate, PhD students and also young post-doc researchers with a global view of the main physical processes by which solar variability affects the Earth’s environment. In addition, an overview of different data analysis and methods for describing solar-terrestrial relations will be given. The school will provide a mix of lectures and activities requiring students participation.
Applications are due before May 17th through the website www.cifs-isss.org/application.asp

For further information visit www.cifs-isss.org/ or send an e-mail to ssc@aquila.infn.it

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    The International Study of Earth-Affecting Solar Transients (ISEST)/MiniMax Workshop is aimed at bringing together scientists from different countries to interact and establish collaboration links that can effectively address the physical mechanisms of the origin, propagation, and Earth impact of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and other transient events. The ultimate goal is to develop the capability to predict the arrival of solar transients at Earth and their potential Space Weather consequences. ISEST/MiniMax is one of the four projects of SCOSTEP’s VarSITI program (2014-2018). The workshop coordinates international activity in observation, theory and modeling, and involves scientists from both developed and developing countries. The workshop also provides an online platform for research and educational opportunities for students. The workshop will have sessions relevant to the seven ISEST/MiniMax working groups: (1) data, (2) theory, (3) simulation, (4) event campaign, (5) Bs challenge, (6) Solar Energetic Particles, and (7) MiniMax campaign.

    If you are interested in attending this workshop in Mexico City, please register at cintli.geofisica.unam.mx/congreso by June 15, 2015. You are also welcome to participate online through solar.gmu.edu/heliophysics/index.php/Main_Page A limited financial support is available to graduate students and young researchers. This support comprises only the local hotel cost and the registration fee. Please send an email along with your CV and tentative abstract to Alejandro Lara (alara.unam@gmail.com) before May 15, 2015 to apply for this financial support.

    SOC: Jie Zhang (Co-Chair, USA), Nat Gopalswamy (Co-Chair, USA), Manuela Temmer (Co-Chair, Austria), Ayumi Asai (Japan), Mario Bisi (UK), Kyungsuk Cho (South Korea), Peter Gallagher (Ireland), Manolis Georgoulis (Greece), Alejandro Lara (Mexico), Noé Lugaz (USA), Alexis Rouillard (France), Nandita Srivastava (India), Bojan Vršnak Croatia), Yu-Ming Wang (China), David Webb (USA) and Yuri Yermolaev (Russia)

    LOC: Alejandro Lara (Chair), Xochitl Blanco-Cano, Rogelio Caballero, Olivia Enríquez, Alberto Flandes, Primož Kajdič and Hector Pérez de Tejada

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Coronal Loop Workshop VII: Heating of the Magnetically Closed Corona, will be held at DAMTP, CMS, University of Cambridge, UK, 21-23 July 2015. We have funding to support young researchers from Europe and the USA.

Abstract and Financial Support deadlines: 17 April 2015

See website for further information:
www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/astro/cl7/

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The LOC of the CSPM-2015 would like to inform you that the deadline for abstract submission of those participants who are going to apply for financial support has been shifted to 30 April 2015. We shifted also the deadline for Thomas Metcalf Travel Award applications to 31 May 2015. Poster of the CSPM-2015 is already published at www.mat.uc.pt/~cspm2015/overview.html .

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