Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2018
Volume 63, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 14–17, 2018; Columbus, Ohio
Session W01: Tuesday Plenary: Nobel Prize and APS Medal WinnersInvited Prize/Award Undergraduate
|
Hide Abstracts |
Sponsoring Units: APS Chair: Clifford Will, University of Florida - Gainesville Room: Union Ballroom BC |
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 8:30AM - 9:06AM |
W01.00001: APS Medal for Excellence in Physics Talk: Magnetic dissipation and field-line topology Invited Speaker: Eugene Parker It is widely believed that the dissipation of magnetic fields in stars and galaxies is a major cause of so much suprathermal gas, as in solar and stellar flares, coronae, winds, and X-ray filaments. However, this magnetic dissipation hypothesis can be correct only if the magnetic stresses are effective in pushing the magnetic field and suprathermal gas to form local current sheets and rapid magnetic reconnection, We consider here what initial nonequilibrium field line topologies are conducive to the general development of current sheets. Using an idealized model of the field line topology, we consider the equilibrium of the magnetic stresses, described by . We show that almost all field line topologies relax to a final equilibrium solution containing current sheets, i.e. surfaces of tangential discontinuity, while the topological set of continuous solutions is of measure zero by comparison. That is to say, almost all interwoven field line topologies, expected in the magnetic loops extending out from the convecting photosphere of the Sun, contain internal current sheets and rapid reconnection as a direct consequence of their internal topology. So dissipation of magnetic field occurs by rapid reconnection throughout, and is inescapable in the relaxation to equilibrium for almost all magnetic field line topologies. The overall dissipation rate depends on the strength of the interweaving of course. [Preview Abstract] |
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 9:06AM - 9:42AM |
W01.00002: LIGO and Gravitational Waves I Invited Speaker: Rainer Weiss Between this talk and the next by Barry Barish, we will give a contracted version of the Nobel Prize 2017 talks that were given by Weiss, Barish and Thorne. The intent is to begin with a little history of the field of gravitational wave detection. Follow with some of the basic ideas describing the waves and their detection. Present the recent discoveries and finally talk about the future directions of the field of gravitational waves and multi-messenger astronomy. [Preview Abstract] |
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 9:42AM - 10:18AM |
W01.00003: LIGO and Gravitational Waves II Invited Speaker: Barry Barish This presentation will be a continuation of the talk by Rai Weiss - LIGO and Gravitational Waves I. Key technical innovations that led to the detection of gravitational waves by Advanced LIGO will be described, a review of the first detections discussed, an update of recent results will be given, and a glimpse at future plans and opportunities. [Preview Abstract] |
Follow Us |
Engage
Become an APS Member |
My APS
Renew Membership |
Information for |
About APSThe American Physical Society (APS) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance the knowledge of physics. |
© 2024 American Physical Society
| All rights reserved | Terms of Use
| Contact Us
Headquarters
1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844
(301) 209-3200
Editorial Office
100 Motor Pkwy, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 591-4000
Office of Public Affairs
529 14th St NW, Suite 1050, Washington, D.C. 20045-2001
(202) 662-8700