CEDAR Postdoc: Study of the Effects of Coulomb Collisions on H+ (Hydrogen) and He+ (Helium) Plasmas for Topside Incoherent Scatter Radar Applications at Jicamarca

研究人员将研究库仑碰撞对从电离层顶部探测到的非相干散射雷达光谱的影响，电离氢和氦是电离层的主要离子物种。这项研究将侧重于在Jicamara射电天文台使用垂直于地球磁场的天线波束进行的甚高频雷达观测。多年来，利用天线波束垂直于磁场的Jicamara非相干散射雷达测量等离子体温度对雷达从业人员来说是难以捉摸的。这项研究将利用在模拟库仑碰撞效应方面的最新进展。如果成功，结果将导致开发一个多分量碰撞非相干散射谱模型，以加强对基卡马卡电离层上层的观测。该模型的开发将基于对嵌入碰撞磁化等离子体中的带电粒子轨迹的模拟。该模型将首先通过Jicamara的标准顶部实验进行测试和验证，该实验利用与磁场垂直的天线波束。在验证了这些指向方向的结果后，将在天线垂直于磁场的情况下进行实验。目标是在这个视角下测量电离层顶部的等离子体漂移、密度和温度。这将极大地提高Jicamara的测量能力。该型号和安装程序将向Jicamara雷达的其他用户提供。这项研究将由一名博士后研究员进行，他计划回到基卡马卡射电天文台，继续他作为天文台工作人员的职业生涯。

The investigators will study the effects of Coulomb collisions on incoherent scatter radar spectra detected from the topside ionosphere where ionized hydrogen and helium are the dominant ion species. The study will focus on very high frequency radar observations conducted at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory using antenna beams pointed perpendicular to Earth's magnetic field. Measurements of plasma temperatures using the Jicamarca incoherent scatter radar with antenna beams pointed perpendicular to the magnetic field have been elusive to radar practitioners for many years. This study will make use of recent progress in modeling the effects of Coulomb collisions. If successful, the results will lead to the development of a multi-component collisional incoherent scatter spectrum model needed for enhanced observations of the upper ionosphere at Jicamarca. The development of the model will be based on the simulation of charged particle trajectories embedded in a collisional magnetized plasma. The model will be first tested and validated with the standard topside experiments at Jicamarca that utilize antenna beams pointed off perpendicular from the magnetic field. After the results are validated for these pointing directions, experiments will be performed with the antenna pointed perpendicular to the magnetic field. The goal is to measure plasma drifts, densities, and temperatures in the topside ionosphere at this viewing angle. This will greatly enhance the measurement capabilities at Jicamarca. The model and fitting procedure will be made available to other users of the Jicamarca radar. The study will be conducted by a post-doctoral researcher, who plans to return to the Jicamarca Radio Observatory and continue his career as a member of the observatory staff.