Workshop on Partially Ionized Plasmas in Astrophysics
Tenerife, Hotel Vallemar, Puerto de la Cruz, 19-22 June 2012

Motivation

Modeling of solar partially ionized plasmas is a relatively new and rapidly growing field of research. The classical approach to treat dynamical and magnetic phenomena in solar plasmas consists in using the approximation of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) at all levels from the deep interior to the corona. However, in recent years, there is growing evidence showing the importance of the effects of plasma partial ionization in different situations, especially in the chromosphere. Within the frame of the project “Magnetic connectivity through the Solar Partially Ionized Atmosphere (ERC-2011-StG 277829-SPIA)” funded by the European Research Council we are organizing a workshop on “Partially Ionized Astrophysical Plasmas” to be held on 19-22 June 2012 in Tenerife. The main objective of the workshop is to bring together different groups working in this field of research. While a non-MHD approach is a relatively non-frequent approach in the Solar Physics community, there have been considerable developments in the fields of interstellar medium, formation of protostellar discs, planetary magnetospheres/ionospheres, etc. During the workshop, we plan to bring together scientists from different research fields, including Solar and non-Solar communities, to discuss the common approaches to the problem and to establish new collaborations.

Description of the meeting

The primary goal of the workshop is to exchange ideas, to establish cooperation links and to develop a joint strategic working plan for further tackling of problems of dynamics and energetics of solar and astrophysical plasmas. The workshop specially aims at stimulating scientific discussions and collaborations between the different groups. The workshop is “by invitation only” and the number of participants is limited to 30–40. The meeting will consist of oral presentations by most of the participants. But the majority of the time will be devoted to the actual workshop, stimulating the participants to work together in small groups on specific topics.

There will be no conference fee.

Scientific topics