Non-equilibrium Magnetohydrodynamic Behavior of Plasmas Having Complex, Evolving Morphology

首席研究员将对等离子体中扭曲磁通的拓扑和自由能演化进行独特的实验研究。具体地说，他将调查等离子体和中性气体高速碰撞的后果。这个项目将促进我们对具有复杂的、不断演变的形态的等离子体的非平衡动力学的理解，例如太阳冕环和天体物理喷流。这些实验结果将与自然界中各种各样的实际等离子体现象相关。更广泛的等离子体物理界中的几个数值模拟的有效性和准确性将与这些实验进行对比测试。这项研究将涉及一名高中生和两名女研究生，它还将导致等离子体物理新实验技术的发展。

The Principal Investigator will perform a unique experimental investigation of the topological and free-energy evolution of twisted magnetic flux in plasmas. Specifically, he will investigate the consequences of a high-speed collision between a plasma and a neutral gas. This project will advance our understanding of the non-equilibrium dynamics of plasmas having complex, evolving morphology, such as solar corona loops and astrophysical jets. These experimental results will be relevant to a wide variety of actual plasma phenomena in nature.The validity and accuracy of several numerical simulations in the wider plasma physics community will be tested against these experiments. This research will involve a high school student and two female graduate students, and it will also lead to the development of new experimental techniques in plasma physics.