SHINE: Improving Understanding of Solar Corona Dynamics Using Laboratory Simulations of Coronal Loops

首席研究员（PI）将使用具有脉冲功率技术的等离子体室对太阳日冕现象进行实验室模拟。等离子体实验方案将被设置为具有与电阻扩散时间相比短的时间尺度，以便“冻结”磁通量，但与阿尔芬时间相比足够长，以允许通过一系列不同状态的演变。这些等离子体将经历复杂的形态变化，取决于所施加的边界条件，如正常的磁场，电流密度，和等离子体质量通量。通过控制这些边界条件，将产生各种各样的实验等离子体配置模拟，例如，一个单一的太阳日冕环，两个相邻的环相同或相反的螺旋度，或八个环“蜘蛛腿”的配置。各种实验配置和诊断将用于研究几种不同的太阳相关现象，包括磁流体动力学（MHD）驱动的射流，最近发现的非MHD“动力学”射流，以及与相邻等离子体填充磁通管合并相关的X射线发射。可重复的等离子体配置将每两分钟创建一次。等离子体行为将使用先进的诊断方法来确定，包括帧速率高达每秒2亿帧的高速数字成像，测量时间和空间分辨密度的成像光谱学，测量线平均密度的激光干涉测量法，测量内部磁场的多元素磁探针，以及对X射线源成像的针孔X射线相机。实验测量将与理论模型的预测进行比较，然后用于改进，修改或挑战这些模型。PI将让一名研究生参与这些实验，并将结果用于培训本科生。PI致力于增加在等离子体物理学领域工作的女性博士科学家的数量。 他还通过他的实验的高度视觉化，成功地维持了一个公共宣传计划，这些实验在主要科学期刊和教科书的封面上以丰富多彩的图形为特色。

The Principal Investigator (PI) will perform laboratory simulations of solar coronal phenomena using a plasma chamber with pulsed power technology. The plasma experimental regime will be set to have a time scale that is short compared to the resistive diffusion time in order to "freeze in" magnetic flux, yet that is sufficiently long compared to the Alfven time to allow evolution through a sequence of distinct states. These plasmas will undergo complex morphological changes that depend on imposed boundary conditions, such as normal magnetic field, current density, and plasma mass flux. By controlling these boundary conditions, a wide variety of experimental plasma configurations will be produced simulating, for example, a single solar coronal loop, two adjacent loops of same or opposite helicity, or an eight loop "spider-leg" configuration. The various experimental configurations and diagnostics will be used to investigate several different solar-relevant phenomena, including magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)-driven jets, a recently-discovered non-MHD "kinetic" jet, and x-ray emission associated with merging of adjacent plasma-filled magnetic flux tubes.Reproducible plasma configurations will be created once every two minutes. Plasma behavior will be determined using advanced diagnostics, including high speed digital imaging at framing rates up to 200 million frames per second, imaging spectroscopy to measure time- and space-resolved density, laser interferometry to measure line-averaged density, multi-element magnetic probes to measure internal magnetic fields, and a pinhole x-ray camera to image x-ray sources. Experimental measurements will be compared to predictions of theoretical models and then used to improve, modify, or challenge these models. The PI will involve a graduate student in these experiments, as well as use the results for training undergraduates. The PI has a record of commitment to increasing the number of women PhD scientists working in plasma physics. He has also sustained a successful public outreach program through of the highly visual nature of his experiments, which have been featured in colorful graphics on the covers of major science journals and in textbooks.