Simons Workshop on Singularities in Fluids and Plasmas

Singularities in Fluids and Plasmas

Left: Volume plot of the vorticity for the Kida-Pelz initial condition: six pairs of anti-parallel vortex tubes.
Right: Isosurface of the vorticity for a single tube at a late time.
(taken from T. Grafke and R. Grauer, Applied Mathematics Letters 26, 500 (2013))

What:   2020 Simons Workshop on Singularities in Fluids and Plasmas
When:   Wed, Mar 18, 2020, 9:00 am    to    Fri, Mar 20, 2020, 5:00 pm
Where:   Princeton Center for Theoretical Science (PCTS:  4th floor, Jadwin Hall)
Directions: https://www.princeton.edu/meet-princeton/visit-us
Registration:  Register for the 2020 Simons Workshop Here 
Lodging:  Reserve your hotel room at the Nassau Inn Here 

Invited Speakers:

Jacob Bedrossian, University of Maryland
Allen Boozer, Columbia University
Russell Caflisch, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University *
Peter Constantin, Princeton University
Steven Cowley, PPPL
Robert Dewar, Australian National University
Theodore Drivas, Princeton University *
Weinan E, Princeton University
Alberto Enciso, ICMAT
Charles Fefferman, Princeton University *
Pierre Germain, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University
Thomas Hou, Caltech
Boris Khesin, University of Toronto
Eugenia Kim, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University
Joaquim Loizu, EPFL-Lausanne
Phillip Morrison, University of Texas at Austin
Chung-Sang Ng, University of Alaska-Fairbanks
David Pfefferle, University of Western Australia
Alexander Philippov, Center for Computational Astrophysics, The Flatiron Institute
Allan Reiman, PPPL
James Robinson, University of Warwick
Jose Rodrigo, University of Warwick
Katepalli Sreenivasan, New York University
Vlad Vicol, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University
Yao Zhou, PPPL

   * To be confirmed

Overview

Finite-time singularities of the Navier-Stokes equation is a Millenium Prize problem (http://www.claymath.org), and has significant consequences for theories of  vortex reconnection and fluid turbulence. The analogous problem of current singularities (whether finite-time or not) has deep implications for fast magnetic reconnection and plasma turbulence. Such current singularities, even when regularized by dissipation, have significant physical implications for problems as diverse as stellar coronal heating (Parker problem) and turbulence, neutron star mergers (including general relativistic effects), space weather, and last but not least, three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic equilibria in toroidal plasmas which play a critical role in determining optimum topologies for magnetic confinement. A recent multi-institutional research program led from Princeton University and supported by the Simons Foundation on “Hidden Symmetries and Fusion Energy” (https://hiddensymmetries.princeton.edu) provides a great and timely opportunity to bring together a diverse group of computational physicists, fluid dynamicists, mathematicians, and  plasma physicists to discuss problems of common interest at this Workshop.