Eugene Parker Explained

Image Upright:	1.0
Birth Name:	Eugene Newman Parker
Birth Date:	10 June 1927
Birth Place:	Houghton, Michigan, U.S.
Death Place:	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Field:	Solar physics, plasma physics
Work Institution:	University of Chicago
Alma Mater:	Michigan State University (BS) Caltech (PhD)
Doctoral Advisor:	Howard P. Robertson
Thesis Title:	The interstellar dust and gas structures
Thesis Url:	http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/437065571
Thesis Year:	1951
Doctoral Students:	Arnab Rai Choudhuri
Known For:	Sweet–Parker model Solar wind Parker spiral

Eugene Newman Parker (June 10, 1927 – March 15, 2022) was an American solar and plasma physicist. In the 1950s he proposed the existence of the solar wind and that the magnetic field in the outer Solar System would be in the shape of a Parker spiral, predictions that were later confirmed by spacecraft measurements. In 1987, Parker proposed the existence of nanoflares, a leading candidate to explain the coronal heating problem.

Parker obtained his PhD from Caltech and spent four years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Utah. He joined University of Chicago in 1955 and spent the rest of his career there, holding positions in the physics department, the astronomy and astrophysics department, and the Enrico Fermi Institute. Parker was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1967. In 2017, NASA named its Parker Solar Probe in his honor, the first NASA spacecraft named after a living person.^[1]

Biography

Parker was born in Houghton, Michigan to Glenn and Helen (MacNair) Parker on June 10, 1927. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Michigan State University in 1948 and a Doctor of Philosophy from Caltech in 1951. Parker spent four years at the University of Utah before joining the University of Chicago in 1955, where he spent the rest of his career. He held positions in Chicago's physics department, astronomy and astrophysics department, and the Enrico Fermi Institute. Parker was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1967.

Theoretical research

In the mid-1950s, Parker developed the theory of supersonic solar wind and predicted the Parker spiral shape of the solar magnetic field in the outer Solar System. His theoretical modeling was not immediately accepted by the astronomical community: when he submitted the results to The Astrophysical Journal, two reviewers recommended its rejection. The editor of the journal, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, overruled the reviewers and published the paper anyway.^[2] Parker's theoretical predictions were confirmed by satellite observations a few years later, especially the 1962 Mariner 2 mission.^[3]

Parker's work increased understanding of the solar corona, the solar wind, the magnetic fields of both the Earth and the Sun, and their complex electromagnetic interactions. In 1972, he formulated what became known as the Parker theorem, which showed how the topology of magnetic field lines in the solar corona of the Sun (and similar stars) can produce flares at X-ray energies.^[4]

He published several textbooks, including Cosmical Magnetic Fields in 1979, and one on magnetic fields in X-ray astronomy in 1994. Seeking to address the coronal heating problem, in 1987 Parker proposed that the solar corona might be heated by myriad tiny "nanoflares", miniature brightenings resembling solar flares that would occur all over the surface of the Sun. Parker's theory became a leading candidate to explain the problem.

Personal life

Parker was married for 67 years to his wife, Niesje, with whom he had two children. He died in Chicago on March 15, 2022, at the age of 94.^{[5] [6]}

Honors and awards

• 1969: Arctowski Medal of the National Academy of Sciences^[7]
• 1969: Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society^[8]
• 1978: George Ellery Hale Prize, Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society, first time this prize was awarded^[9]
• 1979: Chapman Medal, Royal Astronomical Society^[10]
• 1989: National Medal of Science^[11]
• 1990: William Bowie Medal
• 1992: Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society^[12]
• 1997: Bruce Medal
• 2003: Kyoto Prize^{[13] [14]}
• 2003: James Clerk Maxwell Prize of the American Physical Society. Citation: "For seminal contributions in plasma astrophysics, including predicting the solar wind, explaining the solar dynamo, formulating the theory of magnetic reconnection, and the instability which predicts the escape of the magnetic fields from the galaxy."^[15]
• 2010: Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.^[16]
• 2017: NASA renamed its Solar Probe Plus to Parker Solar Probe after Parker,^[17] the first time that a space vessel was named after a living person.^[18] Parker was present at its August 12, 2018, launch.
• 2018: Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research of the American Physical Society. Citation: "For fundamental contributions to space physics, plasma physics, solar physics and astrophysics for over 60 years."^[19]
• 2020: Crafoord Prize in Astronomy^[20]

Books

• Interplanetary Dynamical Processes, 1963, Interscience Publishers. .
• Cosmical Magnetic Fields: Their Origin and their Activity, 1979, Oxford University Press. .
• Spontaneous Current Sheets in Magnetic Fields: With Applications to Stellar X-rays, 1994, Oxford University Press. .
• Conversations on Electric and Magnetic Fields in the Cosmos, 2007, Princeton University Press. .

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2022-03-16 . Eugene Parker, ‘legendary figure’ in solar science and namesake of Parker Solar Probe, 1927-2022 University of Chicago News . 2024-01-07 . news.uchicago.edu . en.
2. Web site: Roach. John. Astrophysicist Recognized for Discovery of Solar Wind. https://web.archive.org/web/20030830010454/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0827_030827_kyotoprizeparker.html. dead. August 30, 2003. National Geographic News. National Geographic. June 2, 2017.
3. News: NASA's Parker Solar Probe Is Named for Him. 60 Years Ago, No One Believed His Ideas About the Sun . Kenneth. Chang. The New York Times. August 10, 2018. After Mariner 2, 'everyone agreed the solar wind existed,' Dr. Parker said..
4. Web site: Chhabra . Sherry . 2022-04-30 . Obituary: Eugene N. Parker (1927 - 2022) . 2024-01-07 . SolarNews . en-US.
5. Web site: Eugene N. Parker, 94, Dies; Predicted the Existence of Solar Wind. The New York Times. Chang. Kenneth. March 17, 2022. March 17, 2022.
6. Web site: Lerner . Louise . Eugene Parker, 'legendary figure' in solar science and namesake of Parker Solar Probe, 1927–2022 . University of Chicago . March 16, 2022 . en . March 16, 2022.
7. Web site: Arctowski Medal. National Academy of Sciences. February 13, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101229195941/http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_arctowski. December 29, 2010.
8. Web site: Henry Norris Russell Lectureship . aas.org . . March 16, 2022 . en.
9. Web site: George Ellery Hale Prize – Previous Winners . spd.aas.org . AAS Solar Physics Division . March 16, 2022.
10. Web site: Chapman Medal winners. Awards, medals and prizes. Royal Astronomical Society. October 9, 2019.
11. Web site: Eugene N. Parker. The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details. National Science Foundation. December 7, 2013.
12. Web site: The Gold Medal . Royal Astronomical Society . 2021 . December 20, 2021.
13. Web site: Citation: Eugene Newman Parker. Kyoto Prize. Inamori Foundation. December 7, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131211172157/http://www.inamori-f.or.jp/laureates/k19_b_eugene/ctn_e.html. December 11, 2013.
14. News: Roach. John. Astrophysicist Recognized for Discovery of Solar Wind. https://web.archive.org/web/20030830010454/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0827_030827_kyotoprizeparker.html. dead. August 30, 2003. December 7, 2013. National Geographic News. August 27, 2003.
15. Web site: 2003 James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics Recipient. Prizes, Awards and Fellowships. American Physical Society. December 7, 2013.
16. Web site: Gruppe 2: Fysikkfag (herunder astronomi, fysikk og geofysikk). Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. no. October 7, 2010. September 27, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110927171005/http://www.dnva.no/c26849/artikkel/vis.html?tid=40118. dead.
17. Web site: N. Davis . Nasa's hotly anticipated solar mission renamed to honour astrophysicist Eugene Parker . . May 31, 2017 . May 31, 2017.
18. Web site: NASA. NASA Renames Solar Probe Mission to Honor Pioneering Physicist Eugene Parker. May 31, 2017. May 31, 2017.
19. News: Award honors Prof. Eugene Parker's lifetime of physics research. January 31, 2018. UChicago News. February 1, 2018. en.
20. Web site: The Crafoord Prizes in Mathematics and Astronomy 2020 . March 17, 2022 . January 30, 2020.