CEDAR Postdoc: Study of the Effects of Coulomb Collisions on H+ (Hydrogen) and He+ (Helium) Plasmas for Topside Incoherent Scatter Radar Applications at Jicamarca

研究人员将研究库仑碰撞对从电离层顶部探测到的非相干散射雷达光谱的影响，电离氢和氦是主要的离子种类。 这项研究将侧重于在希卡马卡射电天文台利用指向垂直于地球磁场的天线波束进行的甚高频雷达观测。 多年来，使用天线波束指向垂直于磁场的Jicamarca非相干散射雷达测量等离子体温度一直是雷达从业者难以理解的。 这项研究将利用最近的进展，模拟库仑碰撞的影响。 如果成功的话，其结果将导致建立一个多成分碰撞非相干散射光谱模型，用于加强对Jicamarca上电离层的观测。 该模型的发展将基于嵌入在碰撞磁化等离子体中的带电粒子轨迹的模拟。 该模型将首先在Jicamarca进行标准的上部实验，利用与磁场垂直的天线波束进行测试和验证。 在对这些指向方向的结果进行验证后，将在天线指向垂直于磁场的情况下进行实验。 目标是在这个视角下测量顶侧电离层中的等离子体漂移、密度和温度。 这将大大提高Jicamarca的测量能力。 该模型和装配程序将提供给希卡马卡雷达的其他用户。 这项研究将由一名博士后研究员进行，他计划返回希卡马卡射电天文台，继续他作为天文台工作人员的职业生涯。

The investigators will study the effects of Coulomb collisions on incoherent scatter radar spectra detected from the topside ionosphere where ionized hydrogen and helium are the dominant ion species. The study will focus on very high frequency radar observations conducted at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory using antenna beams pointed perpendicular to Earth's magnetic field. Measurements of plasma temperatures using the Jicamarca incoherent scatter radar with antenna beams pointed perpendicular to the magnetic field have been elusive to radar practitioners for many years. This study will make use of recent progress in modeling the effects of Coulomb collisions. If successful, the results will lead to the development of a multi-component collisional incoherent scatter spectrum model needed for enhanced observations of the upper ionosphere at Jicamarca. The development of the model will be based on the simulation of charged particle trajectories embedded in a collisional magnetized plasma. The model will be first tested and validated with the standard topside experiments at Jicamarca that utilize antenna beams pointed off perpendicular from the magnetic field. After the results are validated for these pointing directions, experiments will be performed with the antenna pointed perpendicular to the magnetic field. The goal is to measure plasma drifts, densities, and temperatures in the topside ionosphere at this viewing angle. This will greatly enhance the measurement capabilities at Jicamarca. The model and fitting procedure will be made available to other users of the Jicamarca radar. The study will be conducted by a post-doctoral researcher, who plans to return to the Jicamarca Radio Observatory and continue his career as a member of the observatory staff.