Using artificial intelligence, scientists were able to simulate and predict solar events.
According to the press release, artificial intelligence (AI) was used to study the magnetic field in the upper atmosphere of the Sun in a joint effort between researchers at the University of Graz in Austria and Skoltech Institute of Science and Technology in Russia.
Despite previous research, the solar magnetic field is an unknown area for researchers. After centuries of observing the Sun, scientists still have limited information about how sunspots form, and it is unclear whether they play a role in phenomena such as flares or coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
Large amounts of electromagnetic radiation leave the Sun during this event and affect the atmosphere around the Sun. The ability to predict the atmosphere in space is related to human survival in the harsh conditions of space outside the Earth’s atmosphere, and for this reason, it is very important. With their current ability to observe the Sun’s magnetic field, scientists can only see its surface. This is while the accumulation and release of energy occur above the crown and in the atmosphere of the sun.
Using artificial intelligence to simulate the sun’s magnetic fields
Artificial intelligence is being used these days to speed up research ranging from drug discovery to computer science. The Graz and Skoltech researchers used a neural network that was trained on physical data and matched the observational data to a magnetic field model.
Doing so helped the researchers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the observed phenomena and the underlying physical phenomena occurring on the surface of the Sun.
To determine whether this model is applicable, the researchers were able to simulate the evolution of a solar active region. The AI in this study only needed 12 hours of computing time to simulate the turn of events that would occur over the next five days.
Prediction of solar events
In this study, the research team used their computing system to study the magnetic energy released in the solar corona. Since events such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are related to the size of the Sun’s corona, the observation of UV rays confirmed the accuracy of the research method.
After that, the researchers observed a decrease in the energy released in these areas. These results are expected to be obtained after a solar flare.
Using artificial intelligence techniques for numerical simulations allows scientists to better synthesize observed data, Skoltech professor Tatyana Podlachikova said in a statement. “Podlachikova” believes that the use of artificial intelligence in this field leads to a big leap and promises to improve human knowledge about the behavior of the Sun and its surrounding atmosphere.
