Abstract

We have initiated a project to test and improve the local helioseismic techniques of time-distance and ring-diagram analysis. Our goals are to develop and implement physics-based methods that will (1) enable the reliable determinations of subsurface flow, magnetic field, and thermal structure in ... Show moreWe have initiated a project to test and improve the local helioseismic techniques of time-distance and ring-diagram analysis. Our goals are to develop and implement physics-based methods that will (1) enable the reliable determinations of subsurface flow, magnetic field, and thermal structure in regions of strong magnetic fields and (2) be quantitatively tested with realistic solar magnetoconvection simulations in the presence of sunspot-like magnetic fields. We are proceeding through a combination of improvements in local helioseismic measurements, forward modeling of the helioseismic wavefield, kernel computations, inversions, and validation through numerical simulations. As improvements over existing techniques are made they will be applied to the SDO/HMI observations. This work is funded through the the NASA Heliophysics Science Division through the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Science Center program. Show less