| 1. |
- Vaivads, Andris, et al.
(författare)
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Turbulence Heating ObserveR - satellite mission proposal
- 2016
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF PLASMA PHYSICS. - 0022-3778. ; 82
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Universe is permeated by hot, turbulent, magnetized plasmas. Turbulent plasma is a major constituent of active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants, the intergalactic and interstellar medium, the solar corona, the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere, just to mention a few examples. Energy dissipation of turbulent fluctuations plays a key role in plasma heating and energization, yet we still do not understand the underlying physical mechanisms involved. THOR is a mission designed to answer the questions of how turbulent plasma is heated and particles accelerated, how the dissipated energy is partitioned and how dissipation operates in different regimes of turbulence. THOR is a single-spacecraft mission with an orbit tuned to maximize data return from regions in near-Earth space - magnetosheath, shock, foreshock and pristine solar wind - featuring different kinds of turbulence. Here we summarize the THOR proposal submitted on 15 January 2015 to the 'Call for a Medium-size mission opportunity in ESAs Science Programme for a launch in 2025 (M4)'. THOR has been selected by European Space Agency (ESA) for the study phase.
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| 2. |
- Chasapis, A., et al.
(författare)
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Electron Heating at Kinetic Scales in Magnetosheath Turbulence
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 836:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a statistical study of coherent structures at kinetic scales, using data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in the Earth's magnetosheath. We implemented the multi-spacecraft partial variance of increments (PVI) technique to detect these structures, which are associated with intermittency at kinetic scales. We examine the properties of the electron heating occurring within such structures. We find that, statistically, structures with a high PVI index are regions of significant electron heating. We also focus on one such structure, a current sheet, which shows some signatures consistent with magnetic reconnection. Strong parallel electron heating coincides with whistler emissions at the edges of the current sheet.
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| 3. |
- Chasapis, A., et al.
(författare)
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In Situ Observation of Intermittent Dissipation at Kinetic Scales in the Earth's Magnetosheath
- 2018
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : Institute of Physics Publishing. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 856:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a study of signatures of energy dissipation at kinetic scales in plasma turbulence based on observations by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) in the Earth's magnetosheath. Using several intervals, and taking advantage of the high-resolution instrumentation on board MMS, we compute and discuss several statistical measures of coherent structures and heating associated with electrons, at previously unattainable scales in space and time. We use the multi-spacecraft Partial Variance of Increments (PVI) technique to study the intermittent structure of the magnetic field. Furthermore, we examine a measure of dissipation and its behavior with respect to the PVI as well as the current density. Additionally, we analyze the evolution of the anisotropic electron temperature and non-Maxwellian features of the particle distribution function. From these diagnostics emerges strong statistical evidence that electrons are preferentially heated in subproton-scale regions of strong electric current density, and this heating is preferentially in the parallel direction relative to the local magnetic field. Accordingly, the conversion of magnetic energy into electron kinetic energy occurs more strongly in regions of stronger current density, a finding consistent with several kinetic plasma simulation studies and hinted at by prior studies using lower resolution Cluster observations.
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| 4. |
- Osman, K. T., et al.
(författare)
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Multi-Spacecraft Measurement Of Turbulence Within A Magnetic Reconnection Jet
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 815:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The relationship between magnetic reconnection and plasma turbulence is investigated using multipoint in situ measurements from the Cluster spacecraft within a high-speed reconnection jet in the terrestrial magnetotail. We show explicitly that work done by electromagnetic fields on the particles, J . E, has a non-Gaussian distribution and is concentrated in regions of high electric current density. Hence, magnetic energy is converted to kinetic energy in an intermittent manner. Furthermore, we find that the higher-order statistics of magnetic field fluctuations generated by reconnection are characterized by multifractal scaling on magnetofluid scales and non-Gaussian global scale invariance on kinetic scales. These observations suggest that J . E within the reconnection jet has an analog in fluid-like turbulence theory in that it proceeds via coherent structures generated by an intermittent cascade. This supports the hypothesis that turbulent dissipation is highly nonuniform, and thus these results could have far reaching implications for space and astrophysical plasmas.
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| 5. |
- Pezzi, O., et al.
(författare)
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Dissipation measures in weakly collisional plasmas
- 2021
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 505:4, s. 4857-4873
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The physical foundations of the dissipation of energy and the associated heating in weakly collisional plasmas are poorly understood. Here, we compare and contrast several measures that have been used to characterize energy dissipation and kinetic-scale conversion in plasmas by means of a suite of kinetic numerical simulations describing both magnetic reconnection and decaying plasma turbulence. We adopt three different numerical codes that can also include interparticle collisions: the fully kinetic particle-in-cell VPIC, the fully kinetic continuum Gkeyll, and the Eulerian Hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell (HVM) code. We differentiate between (i) four energy-based parameters, whose definition is related to energy transfer in a fluid description of a plasma, and (ii) four distribution function-based parameters, requiring knowledge of the particle velocity distribution function. There is an overall agreement between the dissipation measures obtained in the PIC and continuum reconnection simulations, with slight differences due to the presence/absence of secondary islands in the two simulations. There are also many qualitative similarities between the signatures in the reconnection simulations and the self-consistent current sheets that form in turbulence, although the latter exhibits significant variations compared to the reconnection results. All the parameters confirm that dissipation occurs close to regions of intense magnetic stresses, thus exhibiting local correlation. The distribution function-based measures show a broader width compared to energy-based proxies, suggesting that energy transfer is co-localized at coherent structures, but can affect the particle distribution function in wider regions. The effect of interparticle collisions on these parameters is finally discussed.
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| 6. |
- Retinò, A., et al.
(författare)
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Particle energization in space plasmas : towards a multi-point, multi-scale plasma observatory
- 2021
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Ingår i: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Nature. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This White Paper outlines the importance of addressing the fundamental science theme “How are charged particles energized in space plasmas” through a future ESA mission. The White Paper presents five compelling science questions related to particle energization by shocks, reconnection, waves and turbulence, jets and their combinations. Answering these questions requires resolving scale coupling, nonlinearity, and nonstationarity, which cannot be done with existing multi-point observations. In situ measurements from a multi-point, multi-scale L-class Plasma Observatory consisting of at least seven spacecraft covering fluid, ion, and electron scales are needed. The Plasma Observatory will enable a paradigm shift in our comprehension of particle energization and space plasma physics in general, with a very important impact on solar and astrophysical plasmas. It will be the next logical step following Cluster, THEMIS, and MMS for the very large and active European space plasmas community. Being one of the cornerstone missions of the future ESA Voyage 2050 science programme, it would further strengthen the European scientific and technical leadership in this important field.
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| 7. |
- Graham, Daniel B., et al.
(författare)
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Non-Maxwellianity of Electron Distributions Near Earth's Magnetopause
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 126:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plasmas in Earth's outer magnetosphere, magnetosheath, and solar wind are essentially collisionless. This means particle distributions are not typically in thermodynamic equilibrium and deviate significantly from Maxwellian distributions. The deviations of these distributions can be further enhanced by plasma processes, such as shocks, turbulence, and magnetic reconnection. Such distributions can be unstable to a wide variety of kinetic plasma instabilities, which in turn modify the electron distributions. In this paper, the deviation of the observed electron distributions from a bi-Maxwellian distribution function is calculated and quantified using data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft. A statistical study from tens of millions of electron distributions shows that the primary source of the observed non-Maxwellianity is electron distributions consisting of distinct hot and cold components in Earth's low-density magnetosphere. This results in large non-Maxwellianities at low densities. However, after performing a statistical study we find regions where large non-Maxwellianities are observed for a given density. Highly non-Maxwellian distributions are routinely found at Earth's bowshock, in Earth's outer magnetosphere and in the electron diffusion regions of magnetic reconnection. Enhanced non-Maxwellianities are observed in the turbulent magnetosheath, but are intermittent and are typically not correlated with local processes. The causes of enhanced non-Maxwellianities are investigated.
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| 8. |
- Pezzi, O., et al.
(författare)
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Turbulence and particle energization in twisted flux ropes under solar-wind conditions
- 2024
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 686
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The mechanisms regulating the transport and energization of charged particles in space and astrophysical plasmas are still debated. Plasma turbulence is known to be a powerful particle accelerator. Large-scale structures, including flux ropes and plasmoids, may contribute to confining particles and lead to fast particle energization. These structures may also modify the properties of the turbulent, nonlinear transfer across scales. Aims. We aim to investigate how large-scale flux ropes are perturbed and, simultaneously, how they influence the nonlinear transfer of turbulent energy toward smaller scales. We then intend to address how these structures affect particle transport and energization. Methods. We adopted magnetohydrodynamic simulations perturbing a large-scale flux rope in solar-wind conditions and possibly triggering turbulence. Then, we employed test-particle methods to investigate particle transport and energization in the perturbed flux rope. Results. The large-scale helical flux rope inhibits the turbulent cascade toward smaller scales, especially if the amplitude of the initial perturbations is not large (∼5%). In this case, particle transport is inhibited inside the structure. Fast particle acceleration occurs in association with phases of trapped motion within the large-scale flux rope.
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