Space plasmas: Complex dynamics of the active sun

Abstract

The second example of complex plasma dynamics we will discuss takes us to our own Sun. The suspicion that complex dynamics might govern some of the inner workings of the Sun has been rooted, over the years, in many observations gathered with both telescopes and satellites. For example, in the fact that the Sun sustains a self-generated, strong magnetic field that plays a central role in most of the solar dynamics. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections also exhibit scale-invariant features over many decades. In addition, the active areas on the surface of the Sun also appear to be distributed following some kind of fractal-like patterns.