CAREER: Study of the Most Energetic SEPs from Space with the State-of-the-Art Experiment AMS-02

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The goal of this project is to improve our understanding of Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events. An SEP event is a situation in which the sun produces a stream of highly energetic particles with velocities approaching the speed of light. SEP events are severe space weather phenomena that can be physically harmful to astronauts in space and have the potential to damage satellites. They also lead to increased ionization in Earth's upper atmosphere and can lead to communications problems and can affect GPS location services. This project will analyze a comprehensive set of SEP measurements to improve our understanding of the mechanisms that produce SEP events. By combining data from several sources, the project will generate a baseline for modeling these events. The project will also include educational activities geared toward K-12 students and in particular will include outreach to young women and under-represented minorities.The primary source of data for this project will be the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) that was installed on the International Space Station in 2011. The AMS-02 instrument will provide unprecedented measurements of solar protons and helium in the highest energy range of solar particles. Coupling the AMS-02 data with data from other instruments such as neutron monitors will make it possible to generate complete particle spectrograms from a few hundred MeV to almost 1 TeV. Analysis of the spectrograms of protons and He++ ions will make it possible to determine the roles that different acceleration mechanisms play in producing these high energy particles. The researchers will generate a database of SEP events that will be made available to the entire space physics community. They will also generate educational tools including online tools that can be used for public outreach. These tools will become a part of the Quarknet education and outreach program that is funded by NSF and DOE.