SHINE: Plasma Instabilities in Post-Eruption Solar Corona, Formation of Plasmoids and Supra-Arcade Downflows

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

This 3-year SHINE project is aimed at studying plasma instabilities in the solar corona during coronal mass ejections by means to 3-D numerical simulations in realistic coronal configurations. Although the emphasis of this project is on solar physics, the research outcome has broader implications for the Earth's magnetotail, dayside magnetopause, fusion plasmas, and astrophysics. The research will be carried out at the newly established Princeton Center for Heliospheric Physics, which promotes interdisciplinary and international collaborations between basic plasma physicists and solar observers. These collaborations are pursued in synergy with the Max-Planck/Princeton Center for Plasma Physics, which is funded jointly by the NSF, DoE, Max Planck Institute, and Princeton University. This research project will involve a graduate student and a female postdoctoral fellow, and it will contribute to the training of scientists with backgrounds in both solar observations and numerical modeling. Some aspects of the research program are tightly coupled to the academic program in plasma physics at Princeton University, and there will be a new course in space and astrophysical plasma physics to be taught at the Department of Astrophysical Sciences by the Co-PI. The research and EPO agenda of this project supports the Strategic Goals of the AGS Division in discovery, learning, diversity, and interdisciplinary research. The main goal of this SHINE project is to investigate the cause of current sheet broadening and the physical origin of supra-arcade downflows (SADs) during a coronal mass ejection (CME). The three major tasks of this project are to investigate: (1) the role of plasmoid instabilities in producing turbulent reconnection in line-tied coronal current sheets, and the role such turbulence plays in the observed broadening of current sheets; (2) the role of secondary Rayleigh-Taylor type instabilities in reconnection exhaust regions in producing the observed characteristics of SADs; and, (3) the formation of plasmoids and SADs during a CME. One important aspect of this project is to foster cross-comparison, verification, and validation between simulations and solar observations. One of the major goals is to establish the capability of capturing coronal eruption, plasmoid formation, and SADs within a single simulation. The results of this project are expected to further advance our understanding in how the magnetic energy is stored and released in large-scale systems such as the solar corona.