High-energy processes on the Sun, newborn stars and brown dwarfs 

(Burningham, Forbrich, Gordovskyy)

Solar and stellar flares

Solar and stellar flares are another important area of ​​the research by Dr Gordovskyy and Dr Forbrich. They are key to understanding the magnetic activity of the Sun and other stars. Solar flares are also practically important because they are the main driver of space weather, which affects our daily lives. We study flares by combining computer simulations with observations in radio and X-ray domains. Our focus is on high-energy particles: their acceleration and transport, and their impact on the solar and stellar environments.

Aurorae in Brown Dwarfs

Recent highlights from the brown dwarf and exoplanets group include the discovery of a mid-infrared methane emission feature attributed to aurorae in the atmosphere of cold isolated brown dwarf (Faherty, Burningham et al. 2024, Nature).

This artist concept portrays the brown dwarf W1935, which is located 47 light-years from Earth. Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope found infrared emission from methane coming from W1935. This is an unexpected discovery because the brown dwarf is cold and lacks a host star; therefore, there is no obvious source of energy to heat its upper atmosphere and make the methane glow. The team speculates that the methane emission may be due to processes generating aurorae, shown here in red. NASA, ESA, CSA, and L. Hustak (STScI)