Caitlin Gilchrist-Millar - Student Profile
Current research project
The Atmospheric Response to MHD Waves within Solar Active Regions
My research involves studying magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves in the lower solar atmosphere of active regions such as sunspots and solar pores. Specifically, I am interested in how MHD waves propagate and transport energy through the Sun’s atmospheric layers. To study these waves, I utilise data obtained by the Facility Infrared Spectropolarimeter (FIRS) and the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectropolarimeter (IBIS) based at the Dunn Solar Telescope, New Mexico. Through computational techniques such as Stokes inversions and wavelet analysis, I am then able to evaluate the energetics of the waves and their properties.
Biography
I started my PhD at the Astrophysics Research Centre in September 2018 after graduating with an MSci in Physics with Astrophysics. Although my Masters project concerned supernovae, during my undergraduate degree I also undertook an internship at the University of Oslo on the SolarALMA project. This sparked my interest in Solar Physics and led to me applying for my current PhD position. My PhD has given me the opportunity to attend conferences in Munich, Germany and Boulder, Colorado as well as publish my work and present my research to an international audience.
Research interests
- Solar Physics
- Sunspots
- Solar pores
- MHD waves
- Spectropolarimetry