Reconnection-Driven Flares in Magnetized Astrophysical Plasmas: From the Solar Atmosphere to Sagittarius A*

Abstract

Energetic flares are observed across magnetized astrophysical systems, from stellar coronae to the inner regions of black hole accretion flows. Interpreting their emission remains a challenge, as the underlying physics spans a vast range of spatial and temporal scales—from kinetic-scale particle acceleration to large-scale magnetic structures that govern global energy release. On the observational side, I present the development and first flight of a high-cadence soft X-ray imaging system flown in the 2024 NASA Solar Flare Sounding Rocket Campaign. The instrument leverages delta-doped, back-illuminated CMOS sensors to achieve sub-second imaging in the 0.5–10 keV band, enabling improved temporal resolution of flare dynamics in the solar corona. On the theoretical side, I present fully three-dimensional general relativistic particle-in-cell (GRPIC) simulations of magnetic reconnection in relativistic, high–guide field plasmas, motivated by flares from the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. Through analysis of particle acceleration and synchrotron emission, we offer a physical explanation for the observed diversity in infrared and X-ray flares from Sagittarius A*. Taken together, these efforts demonstrate how new observational tools and high-fidelity simulations can jointly advance our understanding of reconnection-driven energy release across astrophysical environments.