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Harnessing solar radiation pressure is key to transforming space exploration with multiple low cost sunlight propelled spacecraft to outer reaches of space. By controlling the direction of sunlight momentum transfer new missions and better…
We show that under appropriate conditions the impact of a very short and intense laser pulse onto a plasma causes the expulsion of surface electrons with high energy in the direction opposite to the one of propagation of the pulse. This is…
The decay of the solar wind helium to hydrogen temperature ratio due to Coulomb thermalization can be used to measure how far from the Sun strong preferential ion heating occurs. Previous work has shown that a zone of preferential ion…
Laser sail-based spacecraft -- where a powerful earth-based laser propels a lightweight outer-space vehicle -- have been recently proposed by the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative as a means of reaching relativistic speeds for interstellar…
It is shown that the curvature of spacetime, a possible net electric charge on the sun, a small positive cosmological constant and the oblateness of the sun, in conjunction with solar radiation pressure (SPR), affect the bound orbital…
The differential rotation of the sun, as deduced from helioseismology, exhibits a prominent radial shear layer near the top of the convection zone wherein negative radial gradients of angular velocity are evident in the low- and…
A variety of energy sources, ranging from dynamic processes like magnetic reconnection and waves to quasi-steady terms like the plasma pressure, may contribute to the acceleration of the solar wind. We utilize a combination of charged…
When a fast dust particle hits a spacecraft, it generates a cloud of plasma some of which escapes into space and the momentary charge imbalance perturbs the spacecraft voltage with respect to the plasma. Electrons race ahead of ions,…
Just as the ordinary Doppler effect serves as a tool to measure radial velocities of celestial objects, so can the relativistic Doppler effect be implemented to measure a combination of radial and transverse velocities by using recent…
A method for asteroid deflection that makes use of a spacecraft moving back and forth on a segment of an appropriate Keplerian orbit about the asteroid is described and evaluated. It is shown that, on average, the spacecraft describing such…
We investigate the relationships among the angular orbital elements --- the longitude of the ascending node, Omega, the inclination, i, and the argument of perihelion, omega --- of the Kreutz system's faint, dwarf sungrazers observed only…
We have studied the science rationale, goals and requirements for a mission aimed at using the gravitational lensing from the Sun as a way of achieving high angular resolution and high signal amplification. We find that such a mission…
Broadly, solar wind source regions can be classified by their magnetic topology as intermittently and continuously open to the heliosphere. Early models of solar wind acceleration do not account for the fastest, non-transient solar wind…
A growing body of evidence suggests that the solar wind is powered to a large extent by an Alfv\'en-wave (AW) energy flux. AWs energize the solar wind via two mechanisms: heating and work. We use high-resolution direct numerical simulations…
Cometary impacts pose a long-term hazard to life on Earth. Impact mitigation techniques have been studied extensively, but they tend to focus on asteroid diversion. Typical asteroid interdiction schemes involve spacecraft physically…
Alfv\'en waves are known to be important carriers of magnetic energy that could play a role in coronal heating and/or solar wind acceleration. As these waves are efficient energy carriers, how they are dissipated still remains one of the…
The dynamics of radiation pressure acceleration in the relativistic light sail regime are analysed by means of large scale, three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations. Differently to other mechanisms, the 3D dynamics leads to…
Over decades of solar wind observations, heavy ions have been observed to have a higher temperature and flow faster than protons in the solar corona and heliosphere. Remote observations have largely been limited to the low corona ($<…
Two new interplanetary technologies have advanced in the past decade to the point where they may enable exciting, affordable missions that reach further and faster deep into the outer regions of our solar system: (i) small and capable…
Understanding the mechanism(s) of the solar wind acceleration is important in astrophysics and geophysics. A promising model of the solar wind acceleration is known as the wave/turbulence-driven (WTD) model, in which Alfv\'en waves feed…