Collaborative Research: Multi-Spacecraft Investigation of Hot Flow Anomalies

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Hot Flow Anomalies (HFAs) are phenomena observed near the Earth's bow shock that are marked by strongly heated plasmas and substantial deflections in the plasma flow direction. The objective of the proposed research is to determine the characteristics of HFAs, understand how particle heating occurs inside HFAs, and determine their impact on the magnetosphere and ionosphere. The first year will be a systematic survey of hot flow anomaly events to determine the characteristics of HFAs observed upstream of the bow shock and in the magnetosheath. During the second year, the project will determine how the electrons and ions are heated and how the energetic particles (25 keV) are accelerated inside HFAs. During the third year, the impact of HFAs on the magnetosphere and ionosphere will be determined. The project will use a variety of data sets including data from the THEMIS, Cluster and Geotail spacecraft when they were located near the bow shock.The significance of the proposed work lies in the fundamental information it will provide about HFAs, which can significantly modify the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction, generate shocks, and energize particles efficiently. The study will advance our understanding of the structure and characteristics of HFAs, the physics underlying particle heating inside HFAs, and their impact on the magnetosphere and ionosphere. The interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere is a key element in space physics. This study will form the core of the Ph.D. thesis for a graduate student from an underrepresented minority at the Center for Atmospheric Research, University of Massachusetts, Lowell. The scientific results will be highlighted on the THEMIS science nugget website which was developed for members of the public who are interested in THEMIS science results but may not have space physics backgrounds.