A focused international science team

on Waves in the Lower Solar Atmosphere

holding a wealth of experience
in
observations. instrument design. wave theory. numerical simulations. magnetohydrodynamic mechanisms. spectro-polarimetric signatures. radiative-transfer processes.

Scientific Rationale Publications

Science Objectives

Obtaining a comprehensive picture of wave activity in the lower solar atmosphere.

Team Members

A truly international team with diverse expertise in solar wave and oscillation studies.

Outreach

Promoting WaLSA-related activities to a wide worldwide audience.

Unravelling the Sun's atmospheric heating:
the key role of wave activity

Exploring one of solar physics' central questions: why is the Sun's outer atmosphere so hot? Our research focuses on oscillations, particularly slow/fast magneto-acoustic and Alfvén waves, which are believed to play a crucial role in channelling significant amounts of energy into the solar chromosphere and corona.

While many studies have focused on the corona, we aim to fill a critical gap by improving our understanding of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave phenomena in the more weakly explored solar photosphere and chromosphere.

At the heart of our mission, the WaLSA Team addresses the many challenges of wave studies in the lower solar atmosphere, paving the way for new discoveries.

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A team with extensive experience
researching wave dynamics

The team members are world-leading experts in the field and have published hundreds of scientific articles related to wave activity in the lower solar atmosphere.

Diverse expertise

Aligned objectives

Balanced disciplines

Complementary experience

Research Illustrations

Large scale coherent magnetohydrodynamic oscillations in a sunspot

Nature Communications, 2022, 13, 479

Discovery of several wave modes (i.e. more than 30 eigenmodes) coexisting within a large sunspot, based on observations and supported by theoretical models.

A chromospheric resonance cavity in a sunspot mapped with seismology

Nature Astronomy, 2020, 4, 220

Observations of a resonance cavity (the pink isocontours) above a sunspot, amplifying propagating magnetic waves in the lower solar atmosphere.

Transverse oscillations in slender Ca II H fibrils observed with Sunrise/SuFI

Astrophysical Journal Supl. Ser., 2017, 229, 9

Transverse-wave propagation in slender bright fibrils near a small solar active region, carrying a vast amount of energy into the low solar chromosphere.

Photospheric observations of surface and body modes in solar magnetic pores

Astrophysical Journal, 2018, 857, 28

Direct evidence of surface and body wave modes in numerous pores, showing how these modes transfer energy from the waveguide to the surrounding plasma.

Public Engagement
advancing mutual learning

The WaLSA Team actively engages with the public about its activities and science. This creates opportunities for learning, developing new skills, gaining new insights and ideas, improving research, raising aspirations, and inspiring others.

More on outreach activities

Awards and financial support
gratefully acknowledged

2026

MPS Investigator Team

MPS awarded support for a WaLSA team meeting, bringing together WaLSA members, the Sunrise iii and Solar Orbiter/PHI teams, and MPS collaborators to discuss seeing-free wave studies in Göttingen, Germany.

Funding year:

2021 | 2023

ISSI International Team

The WaLSA Team was selected as an International Space Science Institute (ISSI) Team, providing a distinguished grant and facilities to hold a series of two to three one-week team meetings at ISSI in Bern, Switzerland.

Funding years:

2020

The Royal Society's Award

The Hooke Committee of The Royal Society (of UK) awarded the WaLSA Team a prestigious grant to host a Theo Murphy meeting at Chicheley Hall (home of the Kavli Royal Society International Centre).

Funding year:

2019 | 2024

Rosseland's Team

The WaLSA Team received generous grants (in 2018 & 2023) from the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence scheme (the Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics) to host team meetings in Oslo, Norway.

Funding years: