DR. NISHANT KUMAR SINGH

Two important goals of solar physics is to understand its dynamo mechanism and to be able to make an early prediction of energetic events, such as coronal mass ejections and solar flares, which directly influence the terrestrial life. These phenomena are powered by magnetic fields which are generated within the Sun. Moreover, the Sun supports a wide variety of waves that carry useful information about the inhomogeneous solar structure. Based on simulations of turbulent magneto-convection we study the generation of concentrated magnetic fields in a self-consistent manner, and also analyze observational data to look for imprints of subsurface magnetic fields on helioseismic modes. We find that the solar surface gravity or the f-mode displays strengthening about two days prior to active region (AR) formation and thus it provides a new precursor for AR formation. This has implications for space weather forecasting and can potentially be important for constraining dynamo paradigms aiming at understanding the global magnetic activity of the Sun.