Magnetic Reconnection in Kinetic Turbulent Plasmas

了解湍流和磁重联之间的密切联系对更广泛的太阳和空间物理界越来越重要。湍流是将能量从大尺度运动转移到小运动尺度的基本物理过程，湍流能量以等离子体热和粒子能量的形式耗散。磁重联是一种将磁能转化为等离子体动能和热能的普遍物理过程。这两个过程都对日冕、太阳风和行星磁层等系统的动力学和能量学产生了至关重要的影响。在太阳风和地球磁鞘等动荡的环境中观察到了磁重联。通过航天器的观测、模拟和理论，已经提出对湍流的能量耗散和湍流叶栅的变化做出贡献。目前关于磁重联如何影响湍流以及反之亦然的物理基础的知识还处于非常早期的发展阶段。在这方面，这项为期3年的研究项目的主要目的是提高对磁重联和湍流之间相互联系的物理理解。该项目的主要目标是开发一种利用等离子体湍流的陀螺动力学模拟来识别和检查重联活动的新技术。该项目将支持一位职业生涯早期的女科学家的研究，并将为达特茅斯学院的本科生提供研究机会。这些对于下一代科学家的教育和培训至关重要，从而有助于在美国建立更多样化的STEM劳动力队伍。该研究项目的成果预计将有助于更好地理解磁重联和空间等离子体湍流之间的联系，从而对地球周围的空间天气条件进行更准确的建模和预测。这将有助于社会的稳定、经济和技术进步-无论是在国内还是全球。这项为期3年的研究项目有三个科学目标。第一个目标是在完全非线性的动力学湍流中识别活跃的重新连接的X点。第二个目标是研究阿尔文湍流中的磁重联特性。第三个目标是评估重联在磁化湍流加热中的作用。该项目与美国国家科学基金会的日地研究计划直接相关，因为它将为理解空间和天体物理等离子体中湍流和重联的性质提供重要的知识和创新的技术。这一知识将对从太阳表面到地球乃至更远的空间天气的建模和预测至关重要。这项新技术将适用于分析来自MMS、帕克太阳探测器和太阳轨道器等任务的航天器数据。该项目的研究和EPO议程支持AGS部门在发现、学习、多样性和跨学科研究方面的战略目标。该奖项反映了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。

Understanding the close interconnection between turbulence and magnetic reconnection has been of increasing importance to the broader solar and space physics community. Turbulence is a fundamental physical process of transferring energy from large-scale motions to small kinetic scales, where the turbulence energy is dissipated as plasma heat and particle energization. Magnetic reconnection is a universal physical process that converts magnetic energy to plasma kinetic and thermal energies. Both processes critically influence the dynamics and energetics in systems such as the solar corona, solar wind, and planetary magnetospheres. Magnetic reconnection has been observed in turbulent environments such as the solar wind and the Earth's magneto-sheath. It has been suggested to contribute to energy dissipation of the turbulence and changes in the turbulent cascade by spacecraft observations, simulations and theory. Present knowledge on the physics underlying how magnetic reconnection influences turbulence, and vice versa, is at the very early stages of development. In this regard, the main purpose of this 3-year research project is to improve the physical understanding of the interconnection between magnetic reconnection and turbulence. The main goal of the project is to develop a new technique for identifying and examining reconnection activity using gyro-kinetic simulations of plasma turbulence. The project will support the research of an early-career female scientist, and it will provide research opportunities to undergraduate students at Dartmouth College. These are vital for the education and training of the next generations of scientists, thus contributing to a more diverse STEM workforce in the U.S. The outcome of this research project is expected to yield an improved understanding of the connection between magnetic reconnection and space plasma turbulence, hence leading to more accurate modeling and predictions of the space weather conditions surrounding the Earth. This will contribute to the stability, economy, and technology advancement of the society --- both nationally and globally.This 3-year research project has three science objectives. The first objective is to identify active reconnecting X-points in fully non-linear kinetic turbulence. The second objective is to examine the properties of magnetic reconnection in Alfvenic turbulence. The third objective is to assess the role of reconnection in the heating of magnetized turbulence. The project is directly relevant to the NSF's Solar-Terrestrial Research program, because it would provide important knowledge and an innovative technique for understanding the nature of turbulence and reconnection in space and astrophysical plasmas. This knowledge will be critical for the modeling and predictions of space weather from the surface of the Sun to the Earth and beyond. The new technique will be applicable for analyzing spacecraft data from missions such as MMS, Parker Solar Probe, and Solar Orbiter. The research and EPO agenda of this project supports the Strategic Goals of the AGS Division in discovery, learning, diversity, and interdisciplinary research.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.