Abstract
The National Science Foundation’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) will revolutionize our ability to measure, understand, and model the basic physical processes that control the structure and dynamics of the Sun and its atmosphere. The first-light DKIST images, released publicly on 29 January 2020, only hint at the extraordinary capabilities that will accompany full commissioning of the five facility instruments. With this Critical Science Plan (CSP) we attempt to anticipate some of what those capabilities will enable, providing a snapshot of some of the scientific pursuits that the DKIST hopes to engage as start-of-operations nears. The work builds on the combined contributions of the DKIST Science Working Group (SWG) and CSP Community members, who generously shared their experiences, plans, knowledge, and dreams. Discussion is primarily focused on those issues to which DKIST will uniquely contribute.
Highlights
Reconnection between these small magnetic perturbations and the pre-existing sheared loops can result in flux-rope eruption and large-scale flaring. Resolving these small-scale precursors is important for Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) modeling. It has been known for some time that, at least in some cases, the onset of a coronal mass ejection can precede flaring by several minutes, with the CME itself coinciding with precursor indicators (e.g. Harrison et al, 1985; Harrison and Sime, 1989)
Waves or beams? How is flare energy transported from the corona to the chromosphere? Where are the non-thermal particles produced? What is the origin of the flare optical continuum? How compact are flare kernels? What explains the large widths of chromospheric flare emission lines?
Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST)’s on-disk, multilayer magnetometry will allow for more direct inference of the sheared and twisted field emerging through the photosphere and present in the chromosphere (e.g. Kuckein, Martínez Pillet, and Centeno, 2012), while DKIST coronal-field measurements will help constrain field-extrapolation methods (Section 5.6) and allow verification of the magnetic-field configurations that result (e.g. Dove et al, 2011; Bak-Steslicka et al, 2013)
Summary
The anticipated high spatial and temporal resolution high-precision spectropolarimetric observations of the continuously reorganizing and reconfiguring solar magnetic field will allow detailed study of the underlying impulsive energy release and particle-acceleration mechanisms responsible for the formation of particle beams and plasma ejecta These processes are ubiquitous in astrophysics, critical to the stability of laboratory plasmas, and directly impact our ability to robustly extend human technology into the Earth’s space environment. The strategy of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) has been to actively engage a large cross-section of the US and international solar and space physics community in defining these goals and how to achieve them This was done, to expand the range of science to be pursued, but to help ensure via early assessment that the anticipated critical science can be addressed using the DKIST telescope and the anticipated post-focus instrument suite.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
