空间物理
Lower atmospheric global dust storms affect the small- and large-scale weather and variability of the whole Martian atmosphere. Analysis of the CO$_2$ density data from the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer instrument (NGIMS) on board…
Above lunar crustal magnetic anomalies, large fractions of solar wind electrons and ions can be scattered and stream back towards the solar wind flow, leading to a number of interesting effects such as electrostatic instabilities and waves.…
The Earth's magnetosphere represents a natural plasma laboratory that allows us to study the behavior of particle distribution functions in the absence of Coulomb collisions, typically described by the Kappa distributions. We have…
This paper discusses the analysis performed on a supersonic ramjet engine inlet for flight in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Since the Jovian atmosphere lacks oxygen, the thrust will be generated by nuclear fission heating in the heat chamber.…
The paper develops a theoretical relationship between the polytropic index and the temperature anisotropy that may characterize space plasmas. The derivation is based on the correlation among the kinetic energies of particles with…
Turbulent dissipation is considered a main source of heating and acceleration in cosmological plasmas. The alternating current Joule-like term, $\langle\delta j \cdot \delta E\rangle$, is used to measure the energy transfer between…
The TianQin space Gravitational Waves (GW) observatory will contain 3 geocentric and circularly orbiting spacecraft with an orbital radius of 10^5 km, to detect the GW in the milli-hertz frequency band. Each spacecraft pair will establish a…
The impact of radiation dramatically increases at high altitudes in the Earth's atmosphere and in space. Therefore, monitoring and access to radiation environment measurements are critical for estimating the radiation exposure risks of…
As part of the NASA Starlight collaboration, we look at the implications of radiation effects from impacts with the interstellar medium (ISM) on a directed energy driven relativistic spacecraft. The spacecraft experiences a stream of…
A surprising and unexpected phenomenon observed during Cassini's Grand Finale was the spacecraft charging to positive potentials in Saturn's ionosphere. Here, the ionospheric plasma was depleted of free electrons with negatively charged…
Currently, space debris represents a threat for satellites and space-based operations, both in-orbit and during the launching process. The yearly increase in space debris represents a serious concern to major space agencies leading to the…
The scaling of the turbulent spectra provides a key measurement that allows to discriminate between different theoretical predictions of turbulence. In the solar wind, this has driven a large number of studies dedicated to this issue using…
Forbush decreases (Fds) in galactic cosmic ray intensity are related to interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). The parallel diffusion of particles is reduced because the magnetic turbulence level in sheath region bounded by ICME's…
A new look at the structure of the electron diffusion region in collisionless magnetic reconnection is presented. The research is based on a particle-in-cell simulation of asymmetric magnetic reconnection, which include a temperature…
Challenging space mission scenarios include those in low altitude orbits, where the atmosphere creates significant drag to the S/C and forces their orbit to an early decay. For drag compensation, propulsion systems are needed, requiring…
The random walk of magnetic field lines is an important ingredient in understanding how the connectivity of the magnetic field affects the spatial transport and diffusion of charged particles. As solar energetic particles (SEPs) propagate…
Solar wind stream interaction regions (SIRs) are often characterized by energetic ion enhancements. The mechanisms accelerating these particles, as well as the locations where the acceleration occurs, remain debated. Here, we report the…
We present a statistical analysis for the characteristics and radial evolution of linear magnetic holes (LMHs) in the solar wind from 0.166 to 0.82 AU using Parker Solar Probe observations of the first two orbits. It is found that the LMHs…
The nature of the turbulent energy transfer rate is studied using direct numerical simulations of weakly collisional space plasmas. This is done comparing results obtained from hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell simulations of colissionless plasmas,…
In this study, we evaluate a coronal mass ejection (CME) arrival prediction tool that utilizes the wide-angle observations made by STEREO's heliospheric imagers (HI). The unsurpassable advantage of these imagers is the possibility to…