The first three days of the
workshop will be devoted to the definition
of research problems and potential means of solution. Sessions will be
organized by physics topics. Within each topic, presentations will
cover the major challenges and the full diversity of approaches to
address the problem, spanning both low and high energy density plasmas
with theoretical, numerical and experimental opportunities.
The morning of the fourth day will report on a synthesis of the first
three days (prepared by a working group as listed in the organization
below). This will be followed by discussions of next steps in the
process. The next steps will be formulated with the recognition that no
single funding agency provides a home for plasma astrophysics, a
problem that this exercise hopes to diminish. Possible next steps, in
addition to the production of a concise report or white paper
summarizing workshop conclusions, include commitment to a follow-on
meeting to further refine ideas presented, and articulation of workshop
results to relevant funding agencies and other interested
organizations.
The program will be organized by a committee of experts spanning the
topical breadth of the field. Each topic is assigned to a working group
led by a group leader. Before the workshop, each group will gather
input from the broader community, identify major challenges in each
topic, formulate an array of diverse approaches to meet these
challenges, and finally prepare presentations at the workshop. During
the workshop, each working group will receive feedback from
participants and other working groups.
The following is a list of
topics to be covered:
- Magnetic reconnection
(lead: Jim
Drake)
- Collisionless shock and
particle acceleration (lead: Marty
Lee)
- Radiative hydrodynamics
(lead: Bruce
Remington)
- Momentum transport
(lead: Eliot
Quataert)
- Magnetic dynamo
(lead: Ellen
Zweibel, co-lead: Fausto
Cattaneo)
- Interface and shear
instabilities (lead: Dmitri
Ryutov)
- Magnetized dusty plasmas
(lead: Ed
Thomas)
- Waves and turbulence
(lead: Amitava
Bhattacharjee,
co-lead: Stuart
Bale)
- Jets and outflows including
structure formation (lead: Hui Li)
- Relativistic, ultra-strongly
magnetized, and pair plasmas (lead: Edison
Liang)
- Cross-cutting issues, tool
development, and uncovered topics (TBD)
Click HERE
for a current list of
members in each working group.
The organizing committee will
consist of leaders of the working groups
(one per group) listed above, and will be co-chaired by Fausto
Cattaneo, Hantao Ji,
Stewart
Prager and Bob Rosner.
The
working group members are chosen by the organizing
committee. The
workshop is open to general participation; interested persons
are
encouraged to contribute through attendance or through
submission of
short "white papers" to the working groups or to the organizing
committee.
Last
update: November 14, 2009
