Solar flares are intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation accompanied by energetic
particles and hard X-rays. They occur when magnetic flux loops erupt in the solar …

We report here a new model for explaining the three-part structure of coronal mass ejections
(CMEs). The model proposes that the cavity in a CME forms because a rising electric current …

A comprehensive overview of two decades of Caltech experiments relevant to solar corona
physics is presented. The extent to which the experiments scale to the solar corona, the …

Current helicity, H c, and magnetic helicity, H m, are two main quantities used to characterize
magnetic fields. For example, such quantities have been widely used to characterize solar …

A hoop force driven magnetic Rayleigh–Taylor instability (MRTI) is observed in a laboratory
experiment that simulates a solar coronal loop. Increase of the axial wavelength λ is …

Single-pulse, globally propagating coronal fronts, called Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) waves,
were first observed in 1995 by the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope and every …

Fast magnetic reconnection involving non-MHD microscale physics is believed to underlie
both solar eruptions and laboratory plasma current disruptions. While there is extensive …

Laboratory experiments and the models they inspire are powerful tools for studying the
plasma universe. This dissertation details possible solutions to two important problems in …

This dissertation details various studies of arched flux ropes using both scalable laboratory
experiments and numerical simulations. This work can be divided into three major classes …