Speaker
Description
In this presentation, we discuss recent advances in understanding vortical plasma motions within the solar atmosphere. Using high-resolution magnetoconvection simulations from the Bifrost, MURaM, and R2D2 codes, together with observational data (SST and Sunrise), and state-of-the-art techniques for identifying plasma flows and transport barriers (machine learning, forward and backward finite-time Lyapunov exponents, FTLE), we show that vortex structures play a fundamental role in energy transport across different layers of the solar atmosphere and support wave propagation. Analogously to the application of FTLE in hydrodynamic flows, the ridges of forward and backward FTLE fields can indicate the locations of energy sources in the simulated solar atmosphere. In particular, we focus on three distinct classes of vortices, i.e. kinetic, magnetic, and energy vortices, highlighting their physical properties, formation mechanisms, and contributions to plasma dynamics. We also describe the network of Poynting flux inferred from the FTLE fields at different heights, connecting the photospheric and chromospheric layers. Beyond individual vortical structures, we explore their collective behaviour within (intra-connected) and between (inter-connected) communities of vortical motions, examining how these structures interact across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. We demonstrate that their coupled dynamics can enhance energy transport to the higher layers of the solar atmosphere and beyond.