Unified Framework for the Study of Alfven Wave Resonances, Magnetic Reconnection and Kelvin-Helmholtz Instabilities

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This award supports multidisciplinary work that builds on the synergy between theoretical plasma physics and computational applied mathematics to further our understanding of fundamental plasma processes. Plasma is a form of ionized matter that can be found everywhere in our universe. Neon lights, lightning, auroras and stars are all examples of matter in the plasma state. In a plasma, ions and electrons interact strongly with electric and magnetic fields causing unique and highly energetic phenomena, some of which have a direct impact on us - such as solar coronal mass ejections that may lead to space weather events on Earth. It is known that magnetic fields play a crucial role in this type of events by providing a means to store energy and to transport it through the propagation of waves. One of the fundamental open problems, however, is to understand how the energy stored in the magnetic fields is often impulsively released to the plasma in the forms of heat, accelerated particles, and radiation. This problem will be addressed under this award via cutting-edge theoretical and computational approaches. Numerical codes developed as part of this work will be open access to make computational resources accessible to a wider range of researchers and to students through the group's educational activities.This project brings together decades of expertise in plasma physics, computational mathematics and high performance computing to investigate the processes of energy storage and release via the formation of boundary layers in high Lundquist number plasmas. Dissipation of magnetic waves, known as Alfven waves, and the reconnection of magnetic field lines are often invoked as possible mechanisms to explain plasma energization. However, our understanding of how such mechanisms can give rise to impulsive energization is still incomplete, and it remains challenging due to the disparate spatial and temporal scales of the phenomena involved. To address this fundamental issue, this project focuses on the role of mass flows in the interaction of Alfven wave resonances, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, and magnetic reconnection in two- and three-dimensional systems. To this end, the project will rely on state-of-the-art codes and develop high-order hybridized discontinuous finite element codes to achieve the required resolution to simulate energetic events. Graduate students will be supported to work on the project, who will greatly benefit from the broad impacts of this research on both plasma physics and software cyberinfrastructure.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.