Authors: Yang Liu
Affiliation: Stanford University
The primary goal of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) investigation is to study the origin of solar variability and to characterize and understand the Sun's interior and the various components of magnetic activity. As unique capability, HMI will be able to observe the full-disk vector magnetic field continuously at a cadence sufficient to follow activity development. This observation, in combination with other data from SDO, is crucial for understanding and establishing connections from variability in the solar interior to variability in the solar atmosphere, and to the propagation of disturbances in the heliosphere. This will help understand solar variability and its effects, leading to reliable predictive capability, one of the key elements of the Living With a Star (LWS) program.