HR: 0800h
AN: SH31A-0233    [Abstracts]
TI: The effect of reconnection on a confined flux rope
AU: * Rachmeler, L A
EM: laurel@boulder.swri.edu
AF: University of Colorado at Boulder, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Dept. Campus Box 391 Boulder, CO 80309-0391, Boulder, CO 80309-0391,
AU: DeForest, C E
EM: deforest@boulder.swri.edu
AF: Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut St. Suite 300, Boulder, CO 80302,
AU: Kankelborg, C C
EM: kankel@mithra.physics.montana.edu
AF: Montana State University, Physics Dept., Bozeman, MT 59717-3840,
AB: Coronal mass ejections are among the most energetic events in our solar system, but their initiation mechanisms are still not well known. One possibility is loss of stability of a twisted flux rope confined by an overlying arcade. We present here a continuation of our research studying the role of reconnection on this system. We examine the relationship between critical-current reconnection and stability of a simple confined flux rope in simulations free from numerical reconnection. The current work focuses on imposing various reconnection rates on the system to determine how reconnection effects the stability of the confined rope.
DE: 7509 Corona
DE: 7513 Coronal mass ejections (2101)
DE: 7524 Magnetic fields
DE: 7526 Magnetic reconnection (2723, 7835)
SC: SPA-Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting