Collaborative Research: ANSWERS: Ion-Neutral Coupling in Geospace and its Impact on Space Weather

等离子体(一种足以使其组成原子电离的气体)是太阳系和宇宙中最丰富的物质状态。了解等离子体如何与太阳和地球周围大气中的中性元素相互作用，对于空间天气建模和预测非常重要。例如，预测卫星阻力需要了解地球热层的密度，热层密度受到太阳辐射和太阳风离子的影响。然而，空间天气模型有时会忽略等离子体-中性相互作用的影响，或者依赖于通过简单实验开发的过时模型。该项目将对等离子体中的碰撞进行开创性的实验室调查，开发新的等离子体中性相互作用模型，并将它们合并为最先进的空间天气模型。该团队还将制作包含动手活动和教学材料的科学工具包，并将它们分发给西弗吉尼亚州21个县的每一所小学。该项目是西弗吉尼亚大学、德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校、旧金山湾区环境研究所、电力研究所和Spark！了解离子-中性相互作用对于模拟影响空间天气的磁层/电离层/热层耦合和太阳色层动力学很重要。离子-中性碰撞频率对焦耳加热以及电离层和色球(双极)电导率都起着关键作用。项目组将对离子-中性耦合进行多流体、多物种的实验室研究，开发一种新的地球电离层碰撞频率模型，并将离子-中性耦合纳入色球模拟模型。新开发的碰撞频率模型将纳入全球电离层热层模型和空间天气模型框架，并利用天基观测加以验证。将通过两个讲习班鼓励科学界更广泛地参与这项工作。研究和教育活动将涉及博士后研究人员、研究生和本科生。Answers项目通过填补关于日地耦合系统的关键知识空白，促进了国家的STEM专业知识和社会对空间天气灾害的适应能力。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。

Plasma (a gas that is hot enough for its constituent atoms to be ionized) is the most abundant state of matter in our solar system and the universe. Understanding how plasma interacts with neutral elements in the atmospheres around the Sun and Earth is important for space weather modeling and prediction. For instance, predicting satellite drag requires knowledge of the density of Earth's thermosphere, which is modified by solar radiation and ions from solar wind. Yet, space weather models sometimes ignore the effects of plasma-neutral interactions or rely on dated models developed using simple experiments. This project will undertake a pioneering laboratory investigation of collisions in plasmas, develop new models for plasma-neutral interaction, and fold them into state-of-the-art space weather models. The team will also create science kits with hands-on activities and instructional materials and distribute them to every elementary school in 21 counties in West Virginia. The project is a collaborative effort between West Virginia University, University of Texas at Arlington, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, Electric Power Research Institute and Spark! Imagination and Science Center in West Virginia.Understanding ion-neutral interactions is important for modeling magnetosphere/ionosphere/thermosphere coupling and the dynamics of the solar chromosphere, which influence space weather. Ion-neutral collision frequency plays a critical role for both Joule heating and ionospheric and chromospheric (ambipolar) conductivity. The project team will conduct a multi-fluid, multi-species laboratory study of ion-neutral coupling, develop a new model for collision frequency for the terrestrial ionosphere, and incorporate ion-neutral coupling in a chromosphere simulation model. The newly developed collision frequency model will be incorporated into the Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model and the Space Weather Modeling Framework and validated using space-based observations. Wider scientific community participation in this work will be encouraged through two workshops. The research and educational activities will involve postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students. ANSWERS projects advance the nation’s STEM expertise and societal resilience to space weather hazards by filling key knowledge gaps regarding the coupled Sun-Earth system.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.