[Nessc] Summary and posted talks for NESSC meeting on solar reconnection

[Nick Murphy]

Hello all,

The talks for the recent NESSC meeting at the CfA on 2/7 on "Magnetic
Reconnection in the Solar Atmosphere" are now posted on the meeting
website:

http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/events/2012/nessc2012/nessc_20110207.html

Here is a summary of the meeting, including talks and discussion:

Dave Webb and John Raymond discussed observational results of the post-CME
rays that are commonly identified as the current sheets that form in the
wakes behind CMEs.  They are working on a catalog of events observed by
both UVCS and LASCO.

Nick Murphy presented simulations of line-tied asymmetric magnetic
reconnection with a focus on what observational signatures are expected
from these events.

Antonia Savcheva compared nonlinear force-free field models of a sigmoid
observed with Hinode/XRT to MHD simulations, finding evidence of the torus
instability.

Eddy Kaghashvili proposed an Alfven wave based mechanism for polar coronal
jets.

Kathy Reeves presented Hinode/XRT and SDO/AIA observations of hot
supra-arcade above post-flare loops, and discussed a recent
re-interpretation of supra-arcade downflows (Savage et al., in press,
arXiv:1112.3088).

Chengcai Shen and Yi-Min Huang each presented simulation results of
plasmoid formation during high Lundquist number reconnection.  Lijia Guo
compared Yi-Min's simulation results to blobs observed by LASCO.

A few ideas for topics at future meetings were discussed:
 -MHD turbulence and chaos/stochasticity in space plasmas
 -Heating and particle energization processes in space plasmas
 -Solar/stellar connections
 -The recent solar minimum
 -Funding situations

The last three NESSC meetings have been at BU in September on reconnection
in sheaths, UNH in November on interstellar neutrals in the heliosphere,
and the CfA on solar reconnection this past month.  If you are interested
in organizing a meeting at your institution sometime this spring, that
would be great!  We would be happy to host another NESSC workshop at the
CfA sometime this fall.

Thanks to everyone who was able to participate, and to Kelly Korreck for
co-organizing this meeting!

Nick Murphy