  Starting from a realistically sheared magnetic arcade connecting
chromospheric, transition region to coronal plasma, we simulate the in-situ
formation and sustained growth of a quiescent prominence in the solar corona.
Contrary to previous works, our model captures all phases of the prominence
formation, including the loss of thermal equilibrium, its successive growth in
height and width to macroscopic dimensions, and the gradual bending of the
arched loops into dipped loops, as a result of the mass accumulation. Our
2.5-dimensional, fully thermodynamically and magnetohydrodynamically consistent
model mimics the magnetic topology of normal-polarity prominences above a
photospheric neutral line, and results in a curtain-like prominence above the
neutral line through which the ultimately dipped magnetic field lines protrude
at a finite angle. The formation results from concentrated heating in the
chromosphere, followed by plasma evaporation and later rapid condensation in
the corona due to thermal instability, as verified by linear instability
criteria. Concentrated heating in the lower atmosphere evaporates plasma from
below to accumulate at the top of coronal loops and supply mass to the later
prominence constantly. This is the first evaporation-condensation model study
where we can demonstrate how the formed prominence stays in a force balanced
state, which can be compared to the Kippenhahn-Schluter type magnetohydrostatic
model, all in a finite low-beta corona.
