Space Physics
The description of the local turbulent energy transfer, and the high-resolution ion distributions measured by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, together provide a formidable tool to explore the cross-scale connection between the…
Both direct observations and reconstructions from various datasets, suggest that conditions were radically different during the Maunder Minimum (MM) than during the space era. Using an MHD model, we develop a set of feasible solutions to…
We introduce a new solar energetic particle (SEP) transport code that aims at studying the effects of different solar wind configurations on SEP events. We focus on the influence of varying solar wind velocities on the energy changes of…
Solar proton events (SPEs) cause large-scale ionization in the middle atmosphere leading to ozone loss and changes in the energy budget of the middle atmosphere. The accurate implementation of SPEs and other particle ionization sources in…
We study the behaviour of shocked wind-electrons leaving wind-driving stars after undergoing the outer wind termination shock. As an example, we describe the evolution of the keV-energetic electron distribution function downstream of the…
PAN is a scientific instrument suitable for deep space and interplanetary missions. It can precisely measure and monitor the flux, composition, and direction of highly penetrating particles ($> \sim$100 MeV/nucleon) in deep space, over at…
The fast solar wind emerging from coronal holes is likely heated and accelerated by the dissipation of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, but the specific kinetic mechanism resulting in the perpendicular ion heating required by observations is…
An accurate estimate of the energy budget (heating and cooling) of the ionosphere and thermosphere, especially during space weather events, has been a challenge. The abundance of Nitric Oxide (NO), a minor species in the thermosphere, is an…
Kinetic Alfv\'{e}n waves (KAWs) are the short-wavelength extension of the MHD Alfv\'{e}n-wave branch in the case of highly-oblique propagation with respect to the background magnetic field. Observations of space plasma show that small-scale…
We propose a kinetic model describing the formation of the strahl and halo electron populations in the solar wind. We demonstrate that the suprathermal electrons propagating from the sun along the Parker-spiral magnetic field lines are…
Magnetic reconnection is an energy conversion process important in many astrophysical contexts including the Earth's magnetosphere, where the process can be investigated in-situ. Here we present the first encounter of a reconnection site by…
A new GEANT4 particle transport model -- the Atmospheric Radiation Interaction Simulator (AtRIS, Banjac et al. 2018a. J. Geophys. Res.) -- has been recently developed in order to model the interaction of radiation with planets. The upcoming…
Characteristics of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves detected by the Van Allen probes are statistically analyzed, particularly wave-band, bandwidth, and time duration. The Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated…
The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) is an ESA interplanetary spacecraft being developed to perform detailed investigations of the Jupiter system and three of its icy moons: Europa, Callisto and Ganymede. The emphasis will be given on…
Remote sensing observations indicate that Europa is surrounded by a tenuous atmosphere. Furthermore, recent observations and historic data from Galileo hint at the occurrence of water vapour eruptions originating from the interior that…
We study spectral features of ion velocity and magnetic field correlations in the solar wind and in the magnetosheath using data from the Magnetospheric Multi-Scale (MMS) spacecraft. High resolution MMS observations enable the study of…
Ballooning instabilities are widely believed to be a possible triggering mechanism for the onset of substorm and current disruption initiation in the near-Earth magnetotail. Yet the stability of the kinetic ballooning mode (KBM) in a global…
The technical achievements of our civilization are accompanied by certain negative consequences affect the near-Earth space. The problem of clogging of near-Earth space by "space debris" as purely theoretical arose essentially as soon as…
We discuss properties of Alfv\'enic fluctuations with large amplitude in plasmas characterised by low magnetic field compression. We note that in such systems power laws can not develop with arbitrarily steep slopes at large scales, i.e.…
This work extends recent efforts on the force-free modeling of large flux rope-type structures (magnetic clouds, MCs) to much smaller spatial scales. We first select small flux ropes (SFRs) by eye whose duration is unambiguous and which…