The Heliophysics Modeling and Simulation (HMS) project team is developing high-fidelity modeling and simulation tools that enable research on the interiors and atmospheres of the Sun and other stars.
The science community has long understood that solar activity is caused by magnetic fields generated deep inside the Sun. Solar variability is a leading factor in determining space weather, which has a great impact on Earth's environment and modern human activities. The HMS project supports NASA’s Living With a Star (LWS) Program goal to provide a predictive understanding of the Sun's system, specifically of the space weather conditions near Earth and in the interplanetary medium.
The HMS team’s support of this LWS goal is to provide improved forecasting of conditions on the solar surface in terms of both velocity and magnetic fields. The team’s focus ties in with the timely emergence of two technologies:
- High-resolution space-based instruments (such as the Solar Dynamics Observatory, Hinode and IRIS) and ground-based instruments, which together produce vast amounts of data from detailed solar observations
- Petaflop-scale parallel computers that enable realistic modeling of solar conditions
The research team is specifically focused on simulation and modeling of the multi-scale physical processes in the turbulent convective zone and in the solar atmosphere. Initial studies focus on the mechanisms behind solar differential rotation, meridional circulation, and hydromagnetic dynamos. In addition, researchers are investigating radiative magnetohydrodynamics processes in the Sun’s convective zone, photosphere, and chromosphere.
As a part of the NASA/NSF Partnership for Collaborative Space Weather Modeling, the HMS team works together with partner institutions to develop realistic global-Sun models of magnetic flux emergence and transport for physics-based space weather predictions. The longer-term goal is to extend space weather forecasts by up to three days from the current capability.