Overview
- The findings, led by Professor Richard Morton and published October 24 in Nature Astronomy, provide the first direct spectroscopic evidence of small‑scale torsional Alfvén waves.
- Researchers used DKIST’s high‑sensitivity Cryo‑NIRSP to track highly ionised iron at about 1.6 million °C, detecting opposite red and blue shifts across coronal magnetic structures.
- A new analysis removed dominant swaying “kink” motions, exposing the subtle twisting signature long predicted since Hannes Alfvén’s 1942 theory.
- The observed waves offer a plausible mechanism for heating the million‑degree corona and may contribute to solar‑wind acceleration, with potential links to Parker Solar Probe “switchbacks.”
- The international collaboration spanning the UK, China, Belgium and the U.S. says further work will quantify energy transport and dissipation to improve space‑weather models.