CEDAR-GEM Postdoc: High Resolution Measurements and Modeling of Auroral Small-scale Processes

研究人员将使用来自多光谱成像和非相干散射雷达的同时数据来研究极光的精细结构。其目标是更好地理解产生极光的高能粒子的加速机制。极光是太阳风和地球磁层和电离层中等离子体过程复杂相互作用的明显表现。极光中的细尺度形态与电流和电场的结构有关。详细的空间、光谱和时间观测对于理解耦合电离层磁层系统中发生的电动力学过程至关重要。高分辨率的光谱测量提供了对发生在小尺度上的过程的更深入的了解。这项研究需要开发可调谐液晶滤光器，这是一种以前没有用于观测极光的新技术。光学观测将与阿拉斯加费尔班克斯附近的扑克平坦非相干散射雷达(PFISR)一起进行。新的仪器技术将展示获得精确和灵活的光谱测量的新方法。这些观测将使用解释极光形式结构的理论模型进行解释。这项研究将由波士顿大学和瑞典皇家理工学院的博士后研究员共同参与。

The investigators will study fine-scale structure of the aurora using simultaneous data from multi-spectral imaging and incoherent scatter radars. The goal is to better understand the acceleration mechanisms for the energetic particles that produce the aurora. The aurora is the visible manifestation of the complex interplay of plasma processes in the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. Fine-scale morphology in the aurora is related to structuring of currents and electric fields. Detailed spatial, spectral and temporal observations are crucial in understanding the electrodynamic processes taking place in the coupled ionosphere magnetosphere system. High resolution, spectral measurements provide deeper insight into the processes occurring on small scales. This study requires the development of tunable liquid crystal optical filters, a new technique not used previously for observing the aurora. The optical observations will be made in conjunction with the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR) near Fairbanks, Alaska. The new instrumentation techniques will demonstrate new methods to obtain precise and flexible spectral measurements. The observations will be interpreted using theoretical models that account for structuring in auroral forms. The study will be a collaborative effort involving Boston University and a post-doctoral fellow from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.