Christopher Dillon

Current research project

Solar Physics with Biomedical Applications: Revealing the hidden science of the Sun

I study nanoflares which are individually low energy flare events, (around a billionth that of a larger flare) but they occur much more frequently. Theoretically, hundreds or even thousands of nanoflares could be occurring per second over an entire stellar surface. This means nanoflares are capable of being a major component of the solar energy budget and are often touted as a possible answer to the coronal heating mystery. And nanoflares are mysterious - Due to their individually low energy, they're not possible to observe directly. My work involves statistical studies of quiet solar (and more recently stellar) data, to extract any underlying signal due to the multitude of nanoflares therein. These signals can then be compared to simulations, to try and constrain the nanoflaring parameters in the sun and in other stars. I also adapt these techniques to analyse and enhance low-intensity signals for use in bio-marker imaging applications with Randox Laboratories.

Research interests

• Nanoflares

• Stellar Activity

• Biomedical Applications

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