CAREER: Improved Measurement of Dayside Magnetospheric Reconnection

这是一个职业奖，为东南路易斯安那大学的物理和物理教育专业的本科生创建一个空间物理研究计划。 教育目标是使用拟议的研究项目作为一种工具，有PI导师本科生作为他们的常规课程工作的辅助。 科学目标是将来自Sondrestrom非相干散射雷达和超级双极光雷达网的数据联合收割机结合起来，以便比单独使用任何一种仪器更准确地测量行星际磁场与地球磁层之间的磁场重联率，并在更长的磁局部时间内进行测量。 通过对大量地磁亚暴发生前后的重连率测量值进行统计分析，调查人员将检验这样一种假设，即亚暴往往是由重连驱动的磁层对流减少引发的。 如果假设是真的，该项目将制定标准，将允许亚暴的实际预测。这些资金将在学年和夏季提供学生津贴，以便学生可以旅行进行研究并参加科学会议以展示结果。

This is a CAREER award to create a space physics research program for undergraduate physics and physics education majors at Southeastern Louisiana University. The educational objective is to use the proposed research project as a vehicle to have the PI mentor undergraduate students as an adjunct to their regular course work. The scientific objective is to combine data from the Sondrestrom Incoherent Scatter Radar and Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) to measure the rate of magnetic reconnection between the interplanetary magnetic field and Earth's magnetosphere more accurately and over a larger magnetic local time than is possible using either instrument independently. Through statistical analysis of the reconnection rate measurements before and after the onset of a large number of geomagnetic substorms, the investigators will test the hypothesis that substorms are often triggered by reductions in magnetospheric convection, which is driven by reconnection. If the hypothesis is true, the project will develop criteria that will allow actual prediction of substorms. The funds will provide student stipends, both during the academic year and summer, so that students can travel to conduct research and attend scientific conferences to present results.