FieldLine¶

class pfsspy.FieldLine(x, y, z, dtime, output)¶

A single magnetic field line.

Parameters:	x, y, z : array Field line coordinates in a Carrington frame of reference. Must be in units of solar radii. dtime : astropy.time.Time Time at which the field line was traced. Needed for transforming the field line coordinates to other coordinate frames. output : Output The PFSS output through which this field line was traced.
Attributes:	coords : astropy.coordinates.SkyCoord Field line coordinates.

Attributes Summary

`expansion_factor`	Magnetic field expansion factor.
`is_open`	Returns `True` if one of the field line is connected to the solar surface and one to the outer boundary, `False` otherwise.
`polarity`	Magnetic field line polarity.
`solar_footpoint`	Solar surface magnetic field footpoint.
`source_surface_footpoint`	Solar surface magnetic field footpoint.

Attributes Documentation

expansion_factor¶

Magnetic field expansion factor.

The expansion factor is defnied as \((r_{\odot}^{2} B_{\odot}) / (r_{ss}^{2} B_{ss}))\)

Returns:	exp_fact : float Field line expansion factor. If field line is closed, returns np.nan.

is_open¶: Returns True if one of the field line is connected to the solar surface and one to the outer boundary, False otherwise.

polarity¶

Magnetic field line polarity.

Returns:	pol : int 0 if the field line is closed, otherwise sign(Br) of the magnetic field on the solar surface.

solar_footpoint¶

Solar surface magnetic field footpoint.

This is the ends of the magnetic field line that lies on the solar surface.

Returns:	footpoint : `SkyCoord`

Notes

For a closed field line, both ends lie on the solar surface. This method returns the field line pointing out from the solar surface in this case.

source_surface_footpoint¶

Solar surface magnetic field footpoint.

This is the ends of the magnetic field line that lies on the solar surface.

Returns:	footpoint : `SkyCoord`

Notes

For a closed field line, both ends lie on the solar surface. This method returns the field line pointing out from the solar surface in this case.