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Laboratory-generated Coronal Mass Ejections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2011

Christopher Watts
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Yue Zhang
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Alan Lynn
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Ward Manchester
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
C. Nick Arge
Affiliation:
Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, NM 87117, USA
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Abstract

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We have begun a series of laboratory experiments focused on understanding how coronal mass ejections (CME) interact and evolve in the solar wind. The experiments make use of the Helicon-Cathode (HelCat) plasma facility, and the Plasma Bubble eXperiment (PBeX). PBeX can generate CME-like structures (sphereomak geometry) that propagate into the high-density, magnetized background plasma of the HelCat device. The goal of the current research is to compare CME evolution under conditions where there is sheared flow in the background plasma, versus without flow; observations suggest that CME evolution is strongly influenced by such sheared flow regions. Results of these studies will be used to validate numerical simulations of CME evolution, in particular the 3D BATS-R-US MHD code of the University of Michigan. Initial studies have characterized the plasma bubble as it evolves into the background field with and without plasma (no shear).

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2011

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