Overview
Mitchell Berger joined the University of Exeter in September 2007. Prior to his appointment at Exeter University he was a Harvard-Smithsonian Research Fellow, a PostDoc at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (Boulder Colorado), a PostDoc at the University of St Andrews and a Lecturer, Reader and Professor at University College London. Mitchell’s research interests include solar astrophysics, magnetohydrodynamics, and applications of topology and geometry. Mitchell is a Member of the IAU and the IMA. In his spare time he enjoys playing the piano and cycling.
Links with other universities
Harvard-Smithsonian, Durham, Helio Research (USA), UCLA
Nationality
British Citizen
Qualificiations
B.A. Princeton U. 1979
Ph.D. Harvard U. 1984
Further information
Personal Homepage
A model for reconnecting magnetic flux elements. Braided magnetic fields can be a source of energy for solar coronal heating.
The geometrical measure of writhe can be helpful in interpreting images of solar magnetic loops. The writhe depends on both the shape of the projection (S shape or inverse S) as well as the height. These two loops both have negative writhe of - 0.2. The low lying inverse S loop can be a model for a solar sigmoid, while the taller S loop can model an erupting prominence.
Research Interests- Astrophysics, Solar Physics, Fluid Dynamics, Magnetohydrodynamics, Topology of Vector Fields, Knot Theory, Elasticity Theory, Ancient Astronomy
