Simulation of Magnetic Reconnection on the Sun

The sun is made out of plasma, a superheated type of gas with magnetic properties. The plasma in the sun constantly moves around and generates magnetic fields. This makes the sun home to solar flares, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and solar wind. These phenomena are dangerous to life on Earth and in space. Fortunately, Earth's magnetic field protects us from the effects of solar flares, CMEs, and solar wind. But, with enough energy, some of them can break through and shut down electrical equipment, cut communication lines, and endanger astronauts. 

My project aims to simulate the primary mechanism of these solar processes, magnetic reconnection. As the name suggests, magnetic reconnection is when magnetic field lines reconnect. At the large scales of the sun, this releases tons of energy. Understanding magnetic reconnection is required to predict when solar wind, solar flares, and CMEs will hit Earth. The goal of my project is to accurately model magnetic reconnection, leading to simulations of solar flares and then predictions of solar flares. 

I have found previous work on the stability of current sheets in a paper by Dr. Dieter Biskamp (a current sheet can lead to magnetic reconnection). From that paper, I found a book he wrote with a more detailed description of how he modeled magnetic reconnection based on previous work by Sweet-Parker and subsequent papers. I will first emulate Dr. Biskamp's work on the stability of current sheets and then further this line of work with some kind of variation.