CAREER: Exploring Mysterious Whistler Mode Waves in Earth's Plasmaspheric Plumes

这个项目调查了甚低频无线电波，也就是口哨模式波，如何影响地球辐射带的动态。闪电产生哨声波，沿着地球的磁力线传播。了解这些浪潮以及它们是如何被放大的，对国家安全和商业利益至关重要。军事和商业通信使用相同的甚低频无线电波长，因此会受到哨声波的干扰。由此产生的科学结果将导致预测空间天气模型的改进。这直接符合2015年发布的国家空间天气战略和行动计划的目标。该项目支持一名女教员，并将在研究和外联活动中对研究生和本科生进行培训和教育。拟议的外展计划将以K-12学生为目标，通过发展互动的课堂演示、动手活动以及参观北大天文台和天文馆。这次外展将吸引本科生和研究生从事空间科学的研究和向公众传播。等离子体层羽流中的惠斯勒模波显示出出人意料的巨大幅度，这表明该地区的波在驱动高能电子沉淀方面非常有效。目前，辐射带模型没有考虑这种影响。为了了解等离子体层羽流中的哨声波在辐射带动力学中所起的作用，本奖项将结合理论、建模和数据分析。拟线性扩散理论将被用来计算由波-粒子相互作用引起的电子散射。这将与计算电子扩散系数的全扩散程序和模拟辐射带电子动力学的3D扩散程序相结合。对来自多个航天器的观测结果进行分析，包括Van Allen探测器、THEMIS、POES/MetOp和GPS，将建立与等离子体层羽流中哨声波产生相关的密度、波和粒子属性。这些数据将与开发的模型进行比较，以回答科学问题。这项研究的独特之处在于，它关注的是羽流中产生的哨声波，这是一个以前没有调查过的区域。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project investigates how very low frequency radio waves, known as whistler mode waves, affect the Earth's Radiation Belt dynamics. Lightning produces whistler waves, which travel along the Earth's magnetic field lines. Understanding these waves and how they are amplified is important to national security and commercial interests. Military and commercial communications utilize the same very low frequency radio wavelengths and are therefore disrupted by whistler waves. The resulting scientific results will lead to improvement of predictive space weather models. This fits directly into the goals of the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan, released in 2015. The project supports a female faculty member and will train and educate graduate and undergraduate students in both research and outreach activities. The proposed outreach program will target K-12 students through development of interactive in-class presentations, hands-on activities, and tours of the BU observatory and planetarium. The outreach will engage undergraduate and graduate students in both research and communicating space science to the public.Whistler mode waves in plasmaspheric plumes exhibit unexpectedly large amplitudes that suggest that waves in this region are very effective in driving energetic electron precipitation. Currently, radiation belt models do not incorporate this effect. In order to understand the role whistler waves in plasmaspheric plumes play on radiation belt dynamics, this award will combine theory, modeling, and data analysis. Quasilinear diffusion theory will be used to evaluate electron scattering due to wave-particle interactions. This will be combined with modeling from a Full Diffusion code to calculate electron diffusion coefficients and a 3D diffusion code to simulate radiation belt electron dynamics. Analysis of observations from multiple spacecraft, including the Van Allen Probes, THEMIS, POES/MetOp, and GPS, will establish density, wave, and particle properties associated with the generation of whistler waves in plasmaspheric plumes. The data will be compared to the developed model to answer the science questions. The study is unique in that it focuses on whistler waves generated in plumes, a region not previously investigated.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.