Ben Chandran, University of New Hampshire
When
Refreshments served at 3:00 pm in the 3rd floor atrium
TAP Colloquium
Ben Chandran, University of New Hampshire
Title: How Alfven-Wave Turbulence Powers the Solar Wind and Other Astrophysical Outflows
Abstract: An abundance of observational evidence has shown that Alfven-wave turbulence is the dominant energy source that powers the solar wind. In this talk, I will discuss how Alfven-wave energy is generated by convective motions and/or magnetic reconnection near the solar surface, how it flows away from the Sun, how it undergoes a turbulent cascade from large wavelengths to small wavelengths, and how it dissipates to provide coronal and solar-wind heating.
Lee/Donahue/Chandran
Recent work on the `helicity barrier' has transformed the community's understanding of energy cascade and heating. I will present new work that explains how compressive fluctuations can puncture the helicity barrier, a phenomenon that appears to be necessary in order for wave-driven solar-wind models to work. I will also discuss work in general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics that demonstrates that key phenomenologies of Alfven-wave turbulence in the solar wind apply even in relativistic plasmas and curved spacetime.
Bio: Prof. Ben Chandran received his B.S. from Yale University and his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1997. Following a postdoctoral position at UCLA, he joined the faculty at the University of Iowa and later moved to the University of New Hampshire (UNH), where he is currently a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. His research is in the area of theoretical plasma physics, with applications to space, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas. He has twice received the UNH College of Engineering and Physical Science’s Excellence in Teaching Award, was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2018, and is a co-investigator on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission.
Links to relevant articles
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2026arXiv260727981C/abstract
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021JPlPh..87c9004C/abstract
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018JPlPh..84c9010C/abstract