Electron-neutral collisions induced by artificially produced VLF waves: Radiation belt remediation

人工产生的甚低频波引起的电子中性碰撞：辐射带修复

• 批准号: ST/I000801/1
• 负责人: Michael Denton
• 金额: $ 10.28万
• 依托单位: Lancaster University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2011 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FI000801%2F1
• 关键词: Electron; neutral; collisions; induced; artificially

The interaction of particles and waves is a universal physical process that occurs in nature (e.g. wave-particle heating of the solar corona) as well as in the laboratory (e.g. wave-particle heating of plasmas within magnetic-confinement tokamaks). The development of high-powered radio-transmitters has meant that it is now possible to transmit very low frequency (VLF) signals along magnetic flux tubes with the aim of inducing such wave-particle interactions artificially in near-Earth space. This proposal outlines a method - known as radiation belt remediation - to decrease the number of energetic electrons in the radiation belts by artificially stimulating electron-neutral collisions using such VLF signals. The constantly changing flux of energetic electrons within the radiation belts is dangerous to orbiting hardware such as commercial communication satellites, and numerous scientific and military satellites which fly through the region. If successful, the research proposed would have significant practical applications as well as answering pressing physics problems. Success would provide a means to potentially protect spacecraft and instrumentation from: (a) the elevated particle fluxes that occur naturally (e.g. due to solar-driven variations and in situ particle acceleration, which are known to cause occasional satellite failure) or, (b) the exceptionally high fluxes that can occur due to human actions (e.g. high-altitude nuclear detonations massively increase particle fluxes and would certainly damage satellites traversing the radiation belts). It is estimated radiation-belt disruptions to USA government satellites alone cost in excess of $100 million per year (pre-2000) and that between 1994 and 1997 around $500 million worth of satellite insurance claims were a direct or indirect result of such disruptions. At present, expensive shielding is required to mitigate this effect, although no amount of shielding can provide 100% protection. With an ever-increasing societal reliance on space-based technology, it is clear that the potential for disruption and the related cost is huge. Such costs may be significantly reduced by better understanding the physical cause of such effects and by subsequent development of means to mitigate them.

粒子和波的相互作用是一个普遍的物理过程，它既发生在自然界（如日冕的波粒加热），也发生在实验室（如磁约束托卡马克中等离子体的波粒加热）。高功率无线电发射机的发展意味着，现在可以沿沿着磁通量管发射甚低频信号，目的是在近地空间人工诱导这种波粒相互作用。该提案概述了一种方法-称为辐射带补救-通过利用这种甚低频信号人工刺激电子-中性碰撞来减少辐射带中高能电子的数量。辐射带内不断变化的高能电子通量对商业通信卫星等轨道硬件以及许多飞越该地区的科学和军事卫星构成危险。如果成功的话，这项研究将有重要的实际应用，并回答紧迫的物理问题。成功将提供一种可能保护航天器和仪器免受以下影响的手段：（a）自然发生的粒子通量升高（例如，由于太阳驱动的变化和原位粒子加速，已知这会导致偶尔的卫星故障），（B）由于人类活动可能发生的异常高的通量（例如，高空核爆炸会大大增加粒子通量，肯定会损坏穿过辐射带的卫星）。据估计，仅美国政府卫星的辐射带中断每年（2000年前）就造成1亿多美元的损失，1994年至1997年期间，约有价值5亿美元的卫星保险索赔是这种中断的直接或间接结果。目前，需要昂贵的屏蔽来减轻这种影响，尽管没有任何屏蔽可以提供100%的保护。随着社会对天基技术的依赖日益增加，显然，中断的可能性和相关成本是巨大的。通过更好地了解这些影响的物理原因以及随后开发减轻这些影响的手段，可以大大降低这些成本。

项目成果

Statistically measuring the amount of pitch angle scattering that energetic electrons undergo as they drift across the plasmaspheric drainage plume at geosynchronous orbit

统计测量高能电子在地球同步轨道上的等离子层排水羽流中漂移时所经历的俯仰角散射量

• DOI: 10.1002/2013ja019310
• 发表时间: 2014
• 期刊: Space Physics
• 作者: Borovsky J

Case studies of the impact of high-speed solar wind streams on the electron radiation belt at geosynchronous orbit: Flux, magnetic field, and phase space density

高速太阳风流对地球同步轨道电子辐射带影响的案例研究：通量、磁场和相空间密度

• DOI: 10.1002/2013ja018923
• 发表时间: 2013
• 期刊: Space Physics
• 作者: Hartley D

The differences between storms driven by helmet streamer CIRs and storms driven by pseudostreamer CIRs

• DOI: 10.1002/jgra.50524
• 发表时间: 2013-09
• 期刊: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
• 作者: J. Borovsky;M. Denton

Inner magnetospheric heavy ion composition during high-speed stream-driven storms

高速流驱动风暴期间内磁层重离子成分

• DOI: 10.1002/jgra.50292
• 发表时间: 2013
• 期刊: Space Physics
• 作者: Forster D

Electron number density, temperature, and energy density at GEO and links to the solar wind: A simple predictive capability

GEO 的电子数密度、温度和能量密度以及与太阳风的联系：简单的预测能力

• DOI: 10.1002/2014ja019779
• 发表时间: 2014
• 期刊: Space Physics
• 作者: Hartley D