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LIU Xuanqing, CHEN Yao, LE Huijun, LIU Jing. Research Progress on the Effects of Solar Flares on the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Magnetosphere (T-I-M) Coupling System (in Chinese). Chinese Journal of Space Science, 2026, 46(5): 1-24 doi: 10.11728/cjss2026.05.2025-0218
Citation: LIU Xuanqing, CHEN Yao, LE Huijun, LIU Jing. Research Progress on the Effects of Solar Flares on the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Magnetosphere (T-I-M) Coupling System (in Chinese). Chinese Journal of Space Science, 2026, 46(5): 1-24 doi: 10.11728/cjss2026.05.2025-0218

Research Progress on the Effects of Solar Flares on the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Magnetosphere (T-I-M) Coupling System

doi: 10.11728/cjss2026.05.2025-0218 cstr: 32142.14.cjss.2025-0218
  • Received Date: 2025-12-15
  • Rev Recd Date: 2026-04-22
  • Available Online: 2026-05-08
  • Solar flares release intense electromagnetic radiation and can strongly perturb the Earth’s Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Magnetosphere (T-I-M) coupling system. Here, we review progress made by Chinese researchers over the past decade in understanding the multiscale effects of solar flares on the T-I-M system and the underlying coupling mechanisms. For the thermosphere, we summarize flare-induced heating, changes in neutral composition, and atmospheric dynamics. For the ionosphere, we discuss the rapid photoionization response, dynamical changes, and the electrodynamic restructuring of electric fields and current systems, with particular attention to the effects of the extreme ultraviolet late phase. For magnetospheric coupling, we review observational evidence and physical mechanisms showing how flare-driven changes in polar ionospheric conductance modulate field-aligned currents and magnetospheric convection. We also discuss the nonlinear coupling between solar flares and geomagnetic storms.

     

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