TITLE1:

European Solar Telescope: Recent progress

ABSTRACT1:

The main goal of EST is the simultaneous observation of the solar photosphere and chromosphere to understand the complex interaction between the plasma and the magnetic field. The drastic changes in the plasma beta parameter between these two layers affect drastically the way this interaction takes place and has profound implications on the required spatial and temporal scales of the observations, as well as on the polarimetric sensitivity that is needed to adequately detect the polarization signals. In this talk, we will summarize the most stringent requirements and how the suite of instruments of EST have been defined. A number of recent instrumental and numerical developments carried out by members of the project have paved the way for the practical implementation of novel instruments that will make possible for EST to be at the frontier of technological development since first light. These have especial relevance in the field of adaptive optics, integral field units and applications of neural networks. In this talk, all these concepts will be revised, together with the timeline of the project.

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TITLE2: Impact of partial ionization on the solar atmosphere

ABSTRACT2:

The partial ionization of the solar atmosphere has been receiving increasing attention in recent years. The presence of neutrals can, for instance, modify the equilibrium of magnetic structures, introduce instabilities under certain magnetic configurations, lead to plasma heating, or change the way the various wave modes transform into each other and propagate through the atmosphere. These are aspects that, in some cases, have been studied in simple scenarios to find analytical expressions that determine the plasma and the field behavior. More recently, advanced numerical simulations have allowed to gain insight into them with more complex magnetic and plasma configurations. Under an observational point of view, there is little evidence of these phenomena or of the potential decoupling between the neutral and ionized species in some circumstances. With the advent of new large aperture telescopes, some of these effects may be observable. In this talk, I will comment some observational and numerical results obtained by the IAC group related to the impact of partial ionization on solar phenomena.