The deflection of diamagnetic plasma outflows by the surrounding magnetic topology and its role in shaping the evolution of magnetized jets

POSTER

Abstract

Coronal outflows are transient, eruptive magnetic phenomena in the solar corona. These outflows are frequently observed to bend along open magnetic field lines or become deflected due to gradients in the background magnetic field. A leading explanation for this deflection is a disequilibrium in the external magnetic pressure. To investigate this mechanism, we perform magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations using the FLASH code to model laser-driven plasma outflows in the presence of misaligned applied magnetic fields and nonuniform ambient magnetic pressure. Key plasma parameters such as the Alfvén velocity and plasma beta are maintained as scaling invariants to ensure relevance between laboratory experiments and coronal conditions. The simulations reveal that, similar to behavior observed in the solar corona, diamagnetic plasma outflows in the laboratory are deflected by imbalances in external magnetic pressure. Additionally, the formation of an asymmetric diamagnetic cavity is observed driven by inhomogeneous diamagnetic currents, reinforcing the role of magnetic pressure asymmetry in outflow deflection.

*This work was supported by Bartol Research Institute of University of Delaware; Delaware NASA EPSCoR RID seed grant program. The software used in this work was developed in part by the DOE NNSA- and DOE Office of Science-supported Flash Center for Computational Science at the University of Chicago and the University of Rochester.

Presenters

  • Yigeng Tian

    • University of Delaware

Authors

  • Yigeng Tian

    • University of Delaware
  • Chung Hei Leung

    • University of Delaware
  • Arijit Bose

    • University of Delaware