Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsh51a1986t&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SH51A-1986
Physics
Plasma Physics
[7513] Solar Physics, Astrophysics, And Astronomy / Coronal Mass Ejections, [7519] Solar Physics, Astrophysics, And Astronomy / Flares, [7594] Solar Physics, Astrophysics, And Astronomy / Instruments And Techniques, [7831] Space Plasma Physics / Laboratory Studies And Experimental Techniques
Scientific paper
A laboratory plasma experiment has been built to generate an arched magnetic flux rope (AMFR) which is essentially an arch-shaped, current-carrying, magnetized plasma structure. Coronal loops and prominences are the main examples of solar AMFRs that frequently erupt and evolve into more energetic events such as flares and coronal mass ejections. Numerous small-scale AMFRs are also observed in the solar corona. In order to capture the important micro-physics of an erupting AMFR, the laboratory experiment has been designed by careful scaling of the solar plasma parameters. The laboratory AMFR (n ~ 1019 m-3, Te ~ 10 eV, L ~ 0.5 m) is produced using a LaB6 plasma source in presence of an arched vacuum magnetic field (B ~ 1 kG) and it evolves in a large magnetized plasma (1.0 m diameter, 4.5 m long, n ~ 1018 m-3, Te ~ 4 eV, B = 25-150 G). Two laser beams (1064 nm, ~0.5 J/pulse) strike movable carbon targets placed behind the electrodes to generate controlled plasma flows from the footpoints of the AMFR. The laser generated flows can mimic a variety of plasma flow conditions that exist on the sun and they can trigger the AMFR eruption by injecting dense plasma and magnetic flux in the AMFR. The experiment runs continuously with a 0.5 Hz repetition rate and is highly reproducible. Thus, several thousands of identical eruptions are routinely generated and evolution of the magnetic field, density, and plasma temperature is recorded in 3D with a high spatiotemporal resolution ( dx = 1 mm, dt= 20 ns) using movable diagnostic probes. Fast-camera images of the erupting AMFR demonstrate striking similarities between laboratory and solar plasma structures, most notably the observation of a flare-loop like structure following the eruption of the laboratory AMFR. The eruption of the AMFR can be initiated either by the laser generated intense flows or by the presence of a strong background magnetic field (B > 50 G ~ magnetic field at the leading edge of the AMFR). In both scenarios, the AMFR plasma is released and oscillatory plasma motions are observed in the AMFR. Dramatic release of the magnetic flux from the AMFR occurs only when the AMFR is destabilized by plasma flows. We will present experimental data that captures the dynamics of the 3D magnetic field and associated current channels of the laboratory flare loop. Reference: S. K. P. Tripathi and W. Gekelman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 075005 *Work performed at Basic Plasma Science Facility, UCLA and supported by US Department of Energy and National Science Foundation
Gekelman W. N.
Tripathi Sachchida
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