Project Details
Projekt
Multifluid Effects in Flux Rope Dynamics
Applicant
Dr. Jürgen Dreher
Subject Area
Astrophysics and Astronomy
Term
from 2008 to 2015
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 60352348
We will investigate the implications of multifluid effects for the evolution of magnetic flux ropes by time-dependent numerical simulations with the code 'racoon'. The configurations studied are arched magnetized plasma loops as they are found naturally, e.g. in the solar corona, and artificially created in laboratory experiments like 'FlareLab' (see project A5). Our studies are motivated by the fact that multifluid effects are expected to play a role in the 'FlareLab' experiment, where the ion skin depth is of the order of several millimeters and the plasma arc is created by electrical breakdown, for which the neutral gas distribution plays an essential role. In the course of this project, we will extend the 'racoon' setup used earlier for MHD simulations of 'FlareLab' (Arnold et al., 2008) to include Hall- and electron pressure gradient terms in the Ohm's law, neutral gas equations, collisional interaction between the three species and the effects of ionization and recombination. This numerical model will be used to study the expansion properties of the plasma arc and its interaction with the overlying strapping field component, carry out detailed comparisons with the experimental data obtained in project A5, and draw conclusions about the significance and signatures of multifluid effects with possible implications for their astrophysical applications.
DFG Programme
Research Units
