Düsseldorf 2007 – scientific programme

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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik

P 7: Poster

P 7.11: Poster

Monday, March 19, 2007, 16:30–18:30, Poster A

Experimental and numerical simulation of solar flares — •Holger Stein¹, Lukas Arnold², Henning Soltwisch¹, Rainer Grauer², Denis Glushkov¹, and Jürgen Dreher² — ¹Institut für Experimentalphysik V, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany — ²Lehrstuhl für Theoretische Physik I, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany

A laboratory experiment to simulate solar flares has been constructed. The design follows a previous work of Hansen and Bellan [1], who employed an arc-shaped magnetic field (≤ 0.1 T) to guide a strong current (≤ 40 kA) through a cloud of rarefied hydrogen gas. The electrical characteristics of the discharge circuit have been assessed by means of a semi-circular copper conductor replacing the plasma arch, and the gross behaviour of the gas discharges has been examined for varied operational parameters (B-field, plasma current, gas injection) by using a fast single-frame ICCD camera. In parallel to these experimental activities, a numerical framework for simulating the observed plasma structures (including kink-like perturbations) has been developed, and first comparisons of measured and calculated data have been made.

[1] J. F. Hansen and P. M. Bellan, Astrophys. J. Lett. 563, L183 (2001)