SwRI-led research indicates a more complex Sun’s magnetic engine

NASA's Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to fly through the corona, the Sun's upper atmosphere, and offers a unique perspective on solar processes. Using PSP data, SwRI-led research has revealed a complex system of magnetic forces and kinetic energy associated with protons and heavy ions accelerated by magnetic reconnection.
Image Credit: Courtesy of NASA

Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: The Sun's Magnetic Engine and Particle Acceleration

The Core Concept: Magnetic reconnection is an explosive physical process wherein magnetic field lines converge, break apart, and reconnect, converting magnetic energy into the kinetic energy that accelerates particles outward from the Sun.

Key Distinction/Mechanism: Contrary to previous models which assumed uniform particle behavior, recent data reveals that protons and heavy ions react distinctly to magnetic reconnection. Heavy ions are accelerated in a straight, focused trajectory akin to a laser beam, whereas protons generate waves that scatter subsequent particles in a dispersed pattern, similar to a flashlight.

Major Frameworks/Components:

• Magnetic Reconnection Dynamics: The fundamental mechanism that powers solar events by snapping and realigning magnetic fields.
• Differential Particle Acceleration: The observed phenomenon where protons and heavy ions exhibit distinct spectral shapes and scattering behaviors.
• Heliophysics Data Acquisition: The utilization of the Parker Solar Probe to directly sample the near-Sun heliospheric current sheet and test existing high-energy physics models.

Branch of Science: Heliophysics, Solar Physics, Plasma Physics, and Astrophysics.

Future Application: This research establishes a framework for using the Sun as a local, accessible laboratory to study the same high-energy physics—such as particle acceleration and magnetic snapping—that drive distant, extreme astrophysical phenomena like supernovae and black holes.

Why It Matters: A precise understanding of the Sun's complex magnetic engine is critical for forecasting space weather events, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Accurate predictions are necessary to protect terrestrial and space-based technological assets, including electrical power grids, satellite communications, and navigation systems, from hazardous electromagnetic disruptions.

A Southwest Research Institute-led study found that protons and heavy ions react differently to solar magnetic reconnection events, revealing a more complex magnetic engine powering the solar wind.   

Magnetic reconnection converts magnetic energy into explosive kinetic energy, powering solar events and causing space weather that impacts Earth. Magnetic reconnection energizes protons and heavy ions, sending them shooting out from the Sun at high speeds. 

Current models assume all these particles react the same way, but new data obtained by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe shows distinct differences in particle acceleration. While heavy ions shoot out straight like a laser beam, protons create waves that scatter subsequent particles in a dispersed pattern, more like a flashlight.

“This new data rewrites our understanding of reconnection,” said SwRI’s Dr. Mihir Desai, lead author of a new paper about this research. “Protons and heavy ions show distinct spectra that contradict current models. Protons generate waves that scatter them more efficiently, while the heavy ions stay beam-like and retain their accelerated spectral shapes.”

Magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the universe, where magnetic field lines converge, break apart and reconnect.  At the Sun, the explosive physical process energizes particles and generates high-speed flows, driving space weather events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Space weather drives disturbances in Earth’s space environment, producing spectacular auroras but can also disrupt operations of electrical power grids, satellite-based communication and navigation systems. Understanding how magnetic reconnection works is critical for predicting hazardous events and protecting life and technological assets on Earth and in space. 

“What we are learning is that the Sun’s ‘magnetic engine’ is far more complex than we imagined,” Desai said. “This is incredibly exciting because it demonstrates that our own star acts as a local, accessible laboratory for the same high-energy physics — like particle acceleration and magnetic snapping — that powers the most violent and mysterious phenomena in the universe, from black holes to supernovae.”

Parker Solar Probe’s record-breaking proximity to the Sun collects unique measurements as it flies through the corona three times a year. Developed as part of NASA’s Living With a Star program, Parker explores aspects of the Sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. The Living With a Star program is managed by the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory designed, built and operates the spacecraft and manages the mission for NASA.

Reference material: Demystifying Space Weather

Published in journal: The Astrophysical Journal Letters

Title: Proton and Heavy Ion Acceleration by Magnetic Reconnection at the Near-Sun Heliospheric Current Sheet

Authors: M. I. Desai, J. F. Drake, M. Swisdak, A. Fitzmaurice, D. J. McComas, S. D. Bale, T. Phan, G. Berland, D. G. Mitchell, C. M. S. Cohen, M. E. Hill, E. R. Christian, N. A. Schwadron, R. L. McNutt, W. H. Matthaeus, A. Rahmati, P. Whittlesey, R. Livi, and D. Larson

Source/Credit: Southwest Research Institute

Reference Number: heli033126_01

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