Position: PhD Student
Supervisor: Dr Erwin Verwichte
Topic: Magnetohydrodynamic oscillations in solar coronal rain
Funding: STFC
Background: MPhys, University of Oxford, 2014

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My research

Coronal rain composed of cool plasma condensations falling from coronal heights along magnetic field lines is a phenomenon occurring in active region coronal loops. It is a result of catastrophic cooling following a thermal instability onset in a coronal loop with footpoint-concentrated heating. Recent high resolution observations have shown that coronal rain is much more common than previously thought, suggesting its important role in the chromosphere-corona mass cycle. Small sizes of plasma blobs make coronal rain a good tracer of the coronal magnetic field thus highlighting its suitability for investigating the fine-scale coronal structure and its potential for coronal seismology. Due to its origin, coronal rain also provides us with physical insight into the atmospheric thermal cycle and into prominence formation and evolution.

My research focuses on the interplay between coronal rain and MHD oscillations present in loops that are subject to thermal instability. I work on analysis of observational data from space-based observatories such as Hinode, IRIS and SDO. I've done an observing campaign at the Swedish 1-meter Solar Telescope as a part of SST/IRIS/Hinode coordination. More recently I've been focusing on numerical modelling of coronal rain with Lare2d MHD code using Warwick's high performance computing facilities. I'm also interested in space weather forecasting with focus on operational applications and have worked on development of solar wind persistence models currently used operationally by Met Office's Space Weather Operations Centre.

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My publications

P. Kohutova and E. Verwichte, Excitation of vertical coronal loop oscillations by plasma condensations, A&A, in press

P. Kohutova and E. Verwichte, Dynamics of plasma condensations in a gravitationally stratified coronal loop, A&A, 2017, 602 A23, doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/201629912

E. Verwichte and P. Kohutova, Excitation and evolution of vertically polarised transverse loop oscillations by coronal rain, A&A, 2017, 601 L2, doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/201730675

E. Verwichte, P. Antolin, G. Rowlands, P. Kohutova, T. Neukirch, Kinematics of coronal rain in a transversely oscillating loop: Ponderomotive force and rain-excited oscillations, A&A, 2017, 598 A57, doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/201629634

P. Kohutova, F.-X. Bocquet, E. M. Henley, M. J. Owens, Improving solar wind persistence forecasts: Removing transient space weather events, and using observations away from the Sun-Earth line, Space Weather, 2016, 14 802, doi:10.1002/2016SW001447

P. Kohutova and E. Verwichte, Analysis of coronal rain observed by IRIS, HINODE/SOT, and SDO/AIA: Transverse oscillations, kinematics, and thermal evolution, ApJ, 2016, 827 39, doi: 10.3847/0004-637X/827/1/39

Contact details:

Email: p dot kohutova at warwick dot ac dot uk

Office: PS125