International scientific conference 30 August - 2 September, 2005 Chromospheric and Coronal Magnetic Fields Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany

Themes of the Workshop

• Formation and stability of magnetic structures
• Flux emergence and eruption
• Chromospheric and coronal seismology
• Coupling to the photosphere
• Measurement techniques

The Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung is hosting this workshop to mark the new direction of solar research being pursued here. We are involved in the design and development of new instruments for the measurement of vector magnetic fields from the photosphere to the lower layers of the corona. The measurements and their interpretation are difficult and open to controversy but are central to understanding energy release from the Sun.

Images of coronal loops, plasma eruption and the measurement of high energy particles from the Sun imply that the dynamics are controlled by the magnetic field. This field fills the whole corona not only the parts that we see. Motion in the photosphere creates currents and current sheets, the sites of reconnection in the chromosphere and corona. Understanding the extent to which these currents and the surrounding magnetic fields can be measured directly and/or through comparison with modelling is a key goal of the workshop.

Several space missions and large-scale projects are now focusing on these topics. Soon (2006) both STEREO and Solar-B will be launched and, on a smaller scale but extremely important to us, will be the balloon flight Sunrise. In the planning phase is the Solar Orbiter scheduled for launch in 2013. This is expected to return the first detailed information on particle fluxes in the inner heliosphere together with high resolution images of the Sun's magnetic fields and EUV emission in the source regions.