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Prof.dr R.J. Rutten

Solar Physics

 

Research projects

Most astronomical research of the solar physics group at the Sterrekundig Instituut Utrecht exploits its ownership of the Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) on La Palma, built.

Prof. Christoph U. Keller joined our group and has meanwhile become the director of the Astronomical Institute per the 1st of January 2009. He is an expert in astronomical polarimetry, started a research program in solar and stellar spectropolarimetry, and has built up a group building and using advanced instrumentation for and at solar and nighttime telescopes. We welcome astronomy and physics students at Utrecht University or from other universities for Astrovaria (7.5 ects), Bachelor (15 ects) and Masters (60 ects) research projects. The project content may vary widely, from technical via observational to theoretical. Student research in our group often includes work abroad.

DOT research projects: The Dutch Open Telescope on La Palma is an innovative solar telescope built and operated by our group. The DOT produces high-resolution image sequences simultaneously at different wavelengths that sample the solar atmosphere at different heights. There are beautiful examples on the DOT website. They serve to map the topology, dynamics, and evolution of the enigmatic magnetic structures in the solar atmosphere. Specific research topics are:

  • solar wave dynamics: network and internetwork oscillations, gravity waves, umbral flashes, wave excitation;

  • solar surface fields: fluxtube patterns, fluxtube dynamics, magnetic carpet topology and evolution, sunspot structure and dynamics, prominence stability and eruptions;

  • topology and evolution of solar active regions: plage emergence and disappearance, eruption precursor topology, sunspot breakup;

  • solar canopy transitions: wave penetration and heating, moss structure and dynamics, spicule physics, tube-loop coupling.

We also perform detailed comparisons with numerical simulations in order to identify the underlying physics. The coming years will see much science harvesting of the unique DOT capabilities. An advanced speckle processor enables us to frequently participate in international observing campaigns combining the DOT with other telescopes in the Canary Islands and with EUV and X-ray telescopes in space. Such combination permits studying solar magnetism from the deep photosphere out to the corona. You are welcome to share in this exciting research. Hands-on participation in DOT observing at La Palma is also feasible, for example as part of a 7.5 ects Astrovaria project.

Contact:

Prof. Rob Rutten - solar physics, students-to-DOT program
Dr. Ir. Rob Hammerschlag - DOT instrumentation
Ir. Felix Bettonvil - DOT instrumentation, observing campaigns
Dr. Pit Sütterlin - solar physics, DOT observing, speckle processing
Dr. Kostas Tziotziou - solar physics
Drs. Alfred de Wijn - solar physics, speckle processing
Drs. Jorrit Leenaarts - solar physics
Drs. Peter Gömöry - solar physics

DOT website

DOT publications

ADS Publications:

   F.C.M. Bettonvil    R.H. Hammerschlag    J. Leenaarts    R.J. Rutten    P. Sütterlin    K. Tziotziou    A.G. de Wijn

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