Scientific Rationale

Scientific Rationale
The Sun plays a vital role in our solar system, impacting not only our daily lives but also Earth's climate and Space Weather. Over the years, significant advancements have been made in solar observations, both from space and ground-based platforms, allowing us to probe the solar structure and dynamics with unprecedented detail. High-resolution observations at temporal, spatial and spectral domains have become possible due to innovative instruments and satellite missions. Contextually, the last three decades witnessed several outstanding solar missions from space and advanced technology ground-based telescopes. The existing space fleet has further been enriched with the successful deployment of the Indian Aditya-L1 mission into orbit in January 2024 which has also put India into a select list of countries having the capability of observing the Sun from space. The satellite has already started making crucial observations of solar phenomena with various remote sensing and in-situ instruments. Relevant is also the Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM) on Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which measures X-ray emission from the solar corona with unprecedented spectral resolution. Contemporarily, capability of numerical modelling in India has also advanced multi-fold with inclusion of data-based simulations and forward modelling along with the exploration of fundamental solar physics. Additionally, use of AI and ML in conjunction with observations has opened new ways to extract science which was not possible in the past. Undoubtedly, “now” is an opportune moment to envisage a holistic view of solar science explorations using the synergies between observations and numerical modelling to understand various applied as well as fundamental aspects of solar physics. Solar Physics being a global endeavour, collaboration between scientists working at different national institutions and universities is indispensable for advancing our knowledge of the Sun. This workshop will promote sharing of data, resources, and research methodologies at national level. It will also serve as a forum for identifying future research priorities and collaborations. Thus, the discussion at USPW-2024 will eventually lead toward convergence of a vision for utilizing the national resources, both observational and computational, along with future Indian solar missions following the success of Aditya-L1.

The Sun plays a vital role in our solar system, impacting not only our daily lives but also Earth's climate and Space Weather. Over the years, significant advancements have been made in solar observations, both from space and ground-based platforms, allowing us to probe the solar structure and dynamics with unprecedented detail. High-resolution observations at temporal, spatial and spectral domains have become possible due to innovative instruments and satellite missions. Contextually, the last three decades witnessed several outstanding solar missions from space and advanced technology ground-based telescopes. The existing space fleet has further been enriched with the successful deployment of the Indian Aditya-L1 mission into orbit in January 2024 which has also put India into a select list of countries having the capability of observing the Sun from space. The satellite has already started making crucial observations of solar phenomena with various remote sensing and in-situ instruments. Relevant is also the Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM) on Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which measures X-ray emission from the solar corona with unprecedented spectral resolution. Contemporarily, capability of numerical modelling in India has also advanced multi-fold with inclusion of data-based simulations and forward modelling along with the exploration of fundamental solar physics. Additionally, use of AI and ML in conjunction with observations has opened new ways to extract science which was not possible in the past. Undoubtedly, “now” is an opportune moment to envisage a holistic view of solar science explorations using the synergies between observations and numerical modelling to understand various applied as well as fundamental aspects of solar physics.

Solar Physics being a global endeavour, collaboration between scientists working at different national institutions and universities is indispensable for advancing our knowledge of the Sun. This workshop will promote sharing of data, resources, and research methodologies at national level. It will also serve as a forum for identifying future research priorities and collaborations. Thus, the discussion at USPW-2024 will eventually lead toward convergence of a vision for utilizing the national resources, both observational and computational, along with future Indian solar missions following the success of Aditya-L1.