Related papers: Space Plasma Physics: A Review
This paper addresses the fundamental science question: "How does solar wind energy flow through the Earth's magnetosphere, how is it converted and distributed?". We need to understand how the Sun creates the heliosphere, and how the planets…
The Sun's outer atmosphere is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees, and solar plasma flows out into interplanetary space at supersonic speeds. This paper reviews our current understanding of these interrelated problems: coronal…
Understanding the generation and development of the continuous outflow from the Sun requires tracing the physical conditions from deep in the corona to the heliosphere. Detailed global observations of plasma state variables and the magnetic…
Heliophysics is the field that "studies the nature of the Sun, and how it influences the very nature of space - and, in turn, the atmospheres of planetary bodies and the technology that exists there." However, NASA's Heliophysics Division…
Once a cometary plasma cloud has been created through ionisation of the cometary neutrals, it presents an obstacle to the solar wind and the magnetic field within it. The acceleration and incorporation of the cometary plasma by the solar…
Laboratory experiments provide a valuable complement to explore the fundamental physics of space plasmas without the limitations inherent to spacecraft measurements. Specifically, experiments overcome the restriction that spacecraft…
Space weather is among the most powerful and least understood forces shaping planetary atmospheres. In our Solar System, we observe its effects directly: atmospheric escape, chemical disruption, and spectacular auroral displays. Yet for…
Determining the mechanisms responsible for the heating of the coronal plasma and maintaining and accelerating the solar wind are long standing goals in solar physics. There is a clear need to constrain the energy, mass and momentum flux…
The Earth's magnetosphere is formed as a consequence of interaction between the planet's magnetic field and the solar wind, a continuous plasma stream from the Sun. A number of different solar wind phenomena have been studied over the past…
Solar flares are the largest energy-release events in the Solar System, allowing us to study fundamental physical phenomena under extreme conditions. Those include magnetic reconnection, particle acceleration, radiation transport, and…
The solar wind (SW) is a vital component of space weather, providing a background for solar transients such as coronal mass ejections, stream interaction regions, and energetic particles propagating toward Earth. Accurate prediction of…
The explosion of space weather research since the early 1990s has been partly fueled by the unprecedented, uniform, and extended observations of solar disturbances from space and ground based instruments. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from…
Since its formation 4.6 billion years ago, our solar system has most likely crossed numerous magnetized interstellar clouds and bubbles of different sizes and contents on its path through the Milky Way. Having a reference model for how the…
Remarkable progress has been made in understanding turbulent astrophysical plasmas in past decades including, notably, the solar wind and the interstellar medium. In the case of the solar wind, much of this progress has relied on in situ…
I review several ongoing connections between space physics and astrophysics: a) Measurements of energetic particle spectra have confirmed theoretical prediction of the highest energy to which shocks can accelerate particles, and this has…
The solar wind, a continuous flow of plasma from the sun, not only shapes the near Earth space environment but also serves as a natural laboratory to study plasma turbulence in conditions that are not achievable in the lab. Starting with…
The Earth is a planet with a dipolar magnetic field which is agitated by a magnetized plasma wind streaming from the Sun. The magnetic field shields the Earth's surface from penetrating high energy solar wind particles, as well as…
Studying the ambient solar wind, a continuous pressure-driven plasma flow emanating from our Sun, is an important component of space weather research. The ambient solar wind flows in interplanetary space determine how solar storms evolve…
Magnetic waves are a relevant component in the dynamics of the solar atmosphere. Their significance has increased because of their potential as a remote diagnostic tool and their presumed contribution to plasma heating processes. We discuss…
The corona is a layer of hot plasma that surrounds the Sun, traces out its complex magnetic field, and ultimately expands into interplanetary space as the supersonic solar wind. Although much has been learned in recent decades from advances…