Collaborative Research: Reconnection in the Dayside Magnetosphere

该项目将使用全球和局部磁流体动力学（MHD）模拟的组合来研究有关地球磁层白天侧磁重联的三个问题。这三个问题是：(1)全局重连率是由本地条件还是外部条件控制的？(2)重连的地点是否取决于引起重连的物理原因？(3)磁层顶的重联过程是连续的还是间歇的？模拟将本地电阻MHD和霍尔MHD代码耦合到全局MHD代码。模拟结果将与Cluster和THEMIS航天器任务的现场观测结果进行比较。将开发的局部和全局码耦合技术将使研究多尺度耦合成为可能，并具有潜在的变革性。虽然这项研究是针对地球磁层白天侧的磁重联，但磁重联的主题和局部与全球模拟耦合的技术将对地球夜侧磁尾重联的研究、太阳风重联和日冕重联的研究产生影响，并有可能影响天体物理和实验室等离子体过程的研究。

This project will use a combination of global and local magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to examine three questions concerning magnetic reconnection on the dayside of Earth's magnetosphere. The three questions are: (1) Is the global reconnection rate controlled by local or external conditions? (2) Is the site of reconnection dependent on the physics that causes reconnection? (3) Is the reconnection process at the magnetopause continuous or intermittent? The simulations will couple local resistive MHD and Hall MHD codes to a global MHD code. The results of the simulatons will be compared to in situ observations from the Cluster and THEMIS spacecraft missions. The techniques that will be developed for coupling the local and the global codes will make it possible to study multi-scale coupling and is potentially transformative. Although the research is directed toward magnetic reconnection on the dayside of Earth's magnetosphere, the topic of magnetic reconnection and the techniques for coupling local to global simulations will have impacts on studies of reconnection in Earth's night-side magnetotail, reconnection in the solar wind and in the sun's corona and has the potential to impact studies of astrophysical and laboratory plasma processes.