Laboratory simulation of solar magnetic flux rope eruptions

A laboratory plasma experiment has been constructed to simulate the eruption of arched magnetic flux ropes (AMFRs e.g., coronal loops, solar prominences) in an ambient magnetized plasma. The laboratory AMFR is produced using an annular hot LaB6 cathode and an annular anode in a vacuum chamber which has additional electrodes to produce the ambient magnetized plasma. Two laser beams strike movable carbon targets placed behind the annular electrodes to generate controlled plasma flows from the AMFR footpoints that drives the AMFR eruption. The experiment operates with a 0.5 Hz repetition rate and is highly reproducible. Thus, time evolution of the AMFR is recorded in three-dimensions with high spatio-temporal resolutions using movable diagnostic probes. Experimental results demonstrate outward expansion of the AMFR, release of its plasma to the background, and excitation of fast magnetosonic waves during the eruption.