Collaborative Research: GEM--Comparing Simulations of Electron Acceleration in Kinetic Alfven Waves with Observations from the Van Allen Probes in the Inner Magnetosphere

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The focus of this project is study a class of waves known as kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) that may play an important role in the formation of the aurora. New observations from the Van Allen Probes mission show that these waves are a common during space weather storms. Interactions between these KAWs and electrons can result in penetration of these electrons into the atmosphere. Their penetration into the upper atmosphere leads to changes into electrical characteristics of the upper atmosphere. Understanding the factors that control the electrical properties of the upper atmosphere is essential to producing better space weather forecasts. The project will use a combination of numerical models and observations to investigate the process that transfers energy from the KAWs to the electrons. Undergraduate and graduate students will actively participate in this project. The investigators will also plan to provide opportunities for undergraduates to participate in the research through partnership with National Undergraduate Fellowship Program in Plasma Physics and Fusion Energy Sciences program. The proposers will use a hybrid Gyrofluid-Kinetic-Electron (GKE) model to study the recently observed traveling and standing Alfven waves prevalent through the inner magnetosphere during substorms. Van Allen probes data will be used to derive simulation parameters and compare with simulation output. This investigation will determine how and to what extent KAW energy flux is converted to electron energy flux in the inner magnetosphere. It will determine to what extent this mechanism is an efficient and effective pathway for enhanced energization and scattering of plasmasheet electrons into the loss cone, for additional heating of the ionosphere due to this scattering and for additional Poynting flux into the ionosphere.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.