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

这个为期3年的SHINE项目旨在通过在真实日冕结构下的三维数值模拟来研究日冕物质抛射过程中等离子体的不稳定性。虽然这个项目的重点是太阳物理学，但研究成果对地球的磁尾、日侧磁层顶、聚变等离子体和天体物理学具有更广泛的意义。这项研究将在新成立的普林斯顿日球层物理中心进行，该中心促进了基础等离子体物理学家和太阳观测者之间的跨学科和国际合作。这些合作是与马克斯普朗克/普林斯顿等离子体物理中心协同进行的，该中心由美国国家科学基金会、美国能源部、马克斯普朗克研究所和普林斯顿大学共同资助。该研究项目将包括一名研究生和一名女性博士后，它将有助于培养具有太阳观测和数值模拟背景的科学家。该研究项目的某些方面与普林斯顿大学等离子体物理的学术项目密切相关，并且将在天体物理科学系开设一门新的空间和天体物理等离子体物理课程，由Co-PI教授。该项目的研究和EPO议程支持AGS部门在发现、学习、多样性和跨学科研究方面的战略目标。这个SHINE项目的主要目标是研究日冕物质抛射（CME）期间电流层扩大的原因和超级拱廊下流（SADs）的物理起源。本项目的三个主要任务是研究：(1)等离子体不稳定性在产生线系日冕电流片湍流重联中的作用，以及这种湍流在观测到的电流片展宽中的作用；(2)重连排气区的二次瑞利-泰勒型不稳定性在产生SADs观测特征中的作用；(3)抛射过程中等离子体和SADs的形成。该项目的一个重要方面是促进模拟和太阳观测之间的交叉比较、验证和确认。其中一个主要目标是建立捕获日冕喷发，等离子体形成和SADs在单一模拟的能力。这个项目的结果有望进一步推进我们对磁能如何在诸如太阳日冕这样的大型系统中储存和释放的理解。

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.