Multi-Satellite Investigation of Plasma Sheet Flux Rope Formation and Dynamics

这个项目将研究地球磁尾中磁通量绳的形成和演化。它将解决四个主要问题：(1)在多个x线处同时磁重联是否形成磁通绳，如果是，是什么决定了重联点的数量？(2)等离子体片中的通量绳如何随时间演化？小绳子会聚合成大绳子吗？或者内部x线能否在大通量绳内部形成更小的次级绳索？(3)磁通绳的形成与磁亚暴的发生之间是否存在联系？(4)近地中性线的位置是否有变化，如果有，是什么控制着它？数据分析的重要部分将使用一种新的数据挖掘工具完成。该项目的这一部分将作为数据挖掘工具开发人员的一个子奖项来完成。数据挖掘工具将用于自动检测助焊剂绳。选定事件的详细结构和演变将使用Grad-Shafranov重建-一种假设通量绳的轴是对称轴的二维分析技术来完成。该项目的大部分研究将由一名早期职业女性科学家进行。她还将与密歇根大学和英国莱斯特大学的太空科学家进行交流。将使用一种创新的数据挖掘技术来构建一个将向空间科学界提供的通量绳事件的大型数据库。

This project will investigate the formation and evolution of magnetic flux ropes in Earth's magnetotail. It will address four main questions: (1) Are flux ropes formed by simultaneous magnetic reconnection at multiple x-lines and if so what determines the number of reconnection sites? (2) How do flux ropes in the plasma sheet evolve with time? Do smaller ropes coalesce to form larger ones? Or can internal x-lines form inside a large flux rope to generate smaller, secondary ropes? (3) Is there a connection between the onset of the formation of a flux rope and the onset of a magnetic substorm? (4) Does the location of the near-Earth neutral line vary and if so what controls it? A significant part of the data analysis will be done using a new data mining tool. This part of the project will be done as a subaward to the developer of the data mining tool. The data mining tool will be used to automate the detection of flux ropes. The detailed structure and evolution of selected events will be done using a Grad-Shafranov reconstruction -- a 2-D analysis technique that assumes the axis of the flux rope is an axis of symmetry.Most of the research for this project will be carried out by an early-career woman scientist. She will also be interacting with space scientists at the University of Michigan and at the University of Leicester in the UK. An innovative data mining technique will be used to construct a large database of flux rope events which will be made available to the space science community.