Magnetic Reconnection and Plasma Dynamics
Magnetic fields play a fundamental role in many astrophysical systems. This is a consequence of the fact that the latter are most often composed of a dominant plasma component. Prominent examples of cosmic magnetic fields are the solar corona and wind, or the interstellar and intergalactic plasma. In many cases the kinetic energy density of the plasma and the magnetic energy density are of the same order so that neither a test particle nor a test wave description can be justified but rather a self-consistent treatment has to be established. The profound implications of this non-negligible mutual influence for the instabilities, the turbulence and the transport processes in cosmic magnetic fields in combination with new and advanced analytical as well as numerical methods are the subject of the proposed Research Unit. With the research programme outlined below, we will address the three main plasma physical topics of (1) generation and structure of cosmic magnetic fields, (2) reconnection and plasma dynamics and (3) turbulent structures and related transport of energetic particles in cosmic magnetic fields as well as the task of their appropriate, correct and efficient treatment with (4) advanced numerical methods.
The main topics of the Research Unit and their relation to the individual projects. The coverage of these fundamental plasma physical topics in the indicated thematic width and necessary depth within the framework of a Research Unit at the Ruhr- Universit¨at Bochum is possible because of the unique constellation of strong groups with highest expertise in theoretical and experimental plasma physics, theoretical and observational astrophysics, computational physics as well as in numerical mathematics. The individual projects within the research programme can be organized into three groups, namely (A) Magnetohydrodynamic Phenomena, (B) Turbulence and Transport, and (C) Kinetic Instabilities, which are described in the following. |
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