Studies in Radiation Belt Physics

这项提议涉及被称为磁层的近地空间区域的物理过程，磁层是围绕地球的磁空穴，由地球磁场在太阳风中产生。人类对近地空间的占用(例如空间站)和使用(例如通信卫星)的增加，以及我们对空间气象信息的需求日益增加，表明有必要了解磁层的行为。研究微物理过程是为了了解带电粒子如何与观测到的磁层波相互作用。一个需要解决的特别问题是，在被称为磁暴的扰动条件下，在内部磁层中产生高能(“杀手”)电子。这些电子可能导致卫星故障，而磁暴可能会扰乱地球上的电网。空间气象科学寻求描述空间环境的状态，并预测地磁风暴等严重条件。计算机建模和数学分析将用于研究空间等离子体中的波-粒子相互作用。模型将使用来自星载仪器的粒子和波数据来构建，模型解决方案将根据观测数据进行测试。这项提议不仅是为了增进我们对磁层的基本科学知识，而且也是为了促进磁层物理学作为一门预测性科学，从而在更广泛的意义上造福社会。

This proposal addresses physical processes in the region of near-Earth space called the magnetosphere, which is the magnetic cavity surrounding the Earth that is produced in the solar wind by the Earth’s magnetic field. Increased occupation (e.g., space stations) and use (e.g., communications satellites) of near-Earth space by humans, and our increasing need for space weather information point to the necessity for understanding the behavior of the magnetosphere. Microphysical processes are studied with a view to understanding how charged particles interact with observed magnetospheric waves. A particular problem to be addressed is the generation of energetic (‘killer’) electrons in the inner magnetosphere during disturbed conditions known as magnetic storms. These electrons can cause satellite malfunctions, and magnetic storms can disrupt power grids on Earth. The science of space weather seeks to describe the state of the space environment and to forecast severe conditions such as geomagnetic storms. Computer modeling and mathematical analysis will be used to study wave-particle interactions in space plasmas. Models will be constructed using particle and wave data from satellite-borne instruments, and the model solutions will be tested against observational data. The proposal is intended not only to advance our basic scientific knowledge of the magnetosphere, but also to advance magnetospheric physics as a predictive science and so benefit society in a broader sense.