Space Physics
Results of the analysis of spacecraft measurements at 1-5.4 AU are presented within the scope of the large-scale interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) structure investigation. The work is focused on revealing of the radial IMF component (Br)…
We report on the temporal variability of the occurrence of waves at the local proton cyclotron frequency upstream from the Martian bow shock from Mars Global Surveyor observations during the first aerobraking and science phasing orbit…
Turbulent behavior at sub-proton scales in magnetized plasmas is important for a full understanding of the energetics of astrophysical flows such as the solar wind. We study the formation of electron temperature anisotropy due to…
Interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) can reach the Earth's magnetosphere causing magnetic disturbances. It can be measured by satellite and ground-based magnetometers. Data from the ACE satellite and from the geomagnetic field was…
The coagulation of cosmic dust grains is a fundamental process which takes place in astrophysical environments, such as presolar nebulae and circumstellar and protoplanetary disks. Cosmic dust grains can become charged through interaction…
The physics of collisionless shocks is a very broad topic which has been studied for more than five decades. However, there are a number of important issues which remain unresolved. The energy repartition amongst particle populations in…
We present the first observations of large amplitude waves in a well-defined electron diffusion region at the sub-solar magnetopause using data from one THEMIS satellite. These waves identified as whistler mode waves, electrostatic solitary…
We investigate the role of kinetic instabilities driven by a proton anisotropy on the onset of magnetic reconnection by means of 2-D hybrid simulations. The collisionless tearing of a current sheet is studied in the presence of a proton…
A new approach is presented for the problem of optimal impulsive rendezvous of a spacecraft in an inertial frame near a circular orbit in a Newtonian gravitational field. The total characteristic velocity to be minimized is replaced by a…
We perform 2.5D hybrid simulations to investigate the origin and evolution of relative drift speeds between protons and $\alpha$ particles in the collisionless turbulent low-$\beta$ solar wind plasma. We study the generation of differential…
We investigate the dependence of solar wind fluctuations measured by the Wind spacecraft on scale and on the degree of alignment between oppositely directed Elsasser fields. This alignment controls the strength of the non-linear…
In 2010 May 23-24, SDO observed the launch of two successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which were subsequently tracked by the SECCHI suite onboard STEREO. Using the COR2 coronagraphs and the heliospheric imagers (HIs), the initial…
The results of a climatological study of ionospheric disturbances derived from observations of cosmic sources from the Very Large Array (VLA) Low-frequency Sky Survey (VLSS) are presented. We have used the ionospheric corrections applied to…
It is generally known that multi-spacecraft observations of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) more clearly reveal their three-dimensional structure than do observations made by a single spacecraft. The launch of the STEREO twin…
We present an analysis of the ionic composition of iron for two interplanetary coronal mass ejections observed in May 21-23 2007 by the ACE and STEREO spacecraft in the context of the magnetic structure of the ejecta flux rope, sheath…
We present a study of the acceleration of electrons at a perpendicular shock that propagates through a turbulent magnetic field. The energization process of electrons is investigated by utilizing a combination of hybrid (kinetic ions and…
We present waveform observations of electromagnetic lower hybrid and whistler waves with f_ci << f < f_ce downstream of four supercritical interplanetary (IP) shocks using the Wind search coil magnetometer. The whistler waves were observed…
We present Wind spacecraft observations of ion distributions showing field-aligned beams (FABs) and large-amplitude magnetic fluctuations composed of a series of shocklets and short large-amplitude magnetic structures (SLAMS). We show that…
Hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell simulations are employed to investigate the role of kinetic effects in a two-dimensional turbulent multi-ion plasma, composed of protons, alpha particles and fluid electrons. In the typical conditions of the solar-wind…
Kinetic plasma theory is used to generate synthetic spacecraft data to analyze and interpret the compressible fluctuations in the inertial range of solar wind turbulence. The kinetic counterparts of the three familiar linear MHD wave…