Research output per year
Research output per year
Professor of Astrophysics in Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy
Research interests in theory of solar and fusion plasmas
Cambridge University: BA 1st Class in Mathematics 1979, Part III Applied Mathematics 1980
St Andrews University: PhD in Applied Mathematics 1983
Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Reader at UMIST from 1985, University of Manchester from 2004
Professor from 2009
I was Chair of the Institute of Physics Plasma Physics Committee 2013 - 2017 and the UK Solar Physics Counci 2013 - 2016l. I am a member of STFC Astronomy Grants Panel, chairing the Solar System subPanel, and was formerly Chair of the STFC Women in SET group.
Editor of JGR- Space Physics 2008-2013.
Member of Royal Astronomical Society Council 2008-2011
Solar coronal heating by reconnection and relaxation events: A long-standing unsolved problem in solar physics is to explain how coronal plasma is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees. An attractive idea is that the underlying physical process is the same as that causing solar flares, and thus the hot corona results from a superposition of many “nanoflare” events. The process of magnetic reconnection underlies such events, and also occurs widely in other astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. PhD projects are available to model this process, both using analytical and simple numerical models, based on relaxation theory, and using 3D magnetohydirdynamic simulations.
Acceleration of charged particles in magnetic reconnection:Magnetic reconnection is difficult to observe directly, but an important observational signature is the acceleration of charged particles, and a student could develop models of the energy spectra and other properties of charged particles in reconnection, comparing these with observational data from the RHESSI satellite. A novel feature of the project will be the study of 3D magnetic reconnection configurations. This is of particular relevance to solar flares, as a significant proportion of the energy release in these events is carried by high energy non-thermal charged particles, whose origin is not well understood. PhD projects are available to model the acceleration of particles using test particles coupled to MHD models, and novel kinetic approaches.
For both projects, there are strong synergies with modeling magnetically-confined fusion plasmas, and PhD projects may include some element of fusion studies in collaboration with Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Harris, D. (Organiser), Richards, L. (Organiser), Cowen, R. (Member of programme committee), Boya, R. (Member of programme committee), Browning, P. (Member of programme committee), Polya, D. (Member of programme committee), Da Conceicao Bispo, P. (Member of programme committee) & Pampaka, M. (Member of programme committee)
Activity: Participating in or organising event(s) › Organising a conference, workshop, exhibition, performance, inquiry, course etc › Research
Harris, D. (Organiser), Richards, L. (Organiser), Cowen, R. (Member of programme committee), Mohammad-Qureshi, S. (Member of programme committee), Boya, R. (Member of programme committee), Browning, P. (Member of programme committee), Clinch, S. (Member of programme committee), Cotter, S. (Member of programme committee), Polya, D. (Member of programme committee), Sattler, U. (Member of programme committee), Walton, C. (Member of programme committee), Da Conceicao Bispo, P. (Member of programme committee), Browne, A. L. (Member of programme committee), Lawson, C. (Member of programme committee) & Pampaka, M. (Member of programme committee)
Activity: Participating in or organising event(s) › Organising a conference, workshop, exhibition, performance, inquiry, course etc › Research
Browning, P. (Academic expert member)
Activity: Membership › Membership of committee › Research
Browning, P. (Academic expert member)
Activity: Membership › Membership of grants peer review panel › Research
Browning, P. (Speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research