Simulating Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in the Plasma Sheet and its Role in Transport

该项目将执行和分析地球磁层的数值磁流体动力学（MHD）模拟，目的是研究等离子体层中大规模低频湍流的原因及其对对流、传输和能量收支的影响。关于湍流的潜在原因，湍流在上游太阳风、重联和其他内部过程中的相对作用将被研究。此外，还将研究与电离层耦合的作用。一个充分记录并成功验证的MHD模型将在最先进的NASA和NSF XSEDE超级计算机系统上运行，以执行一组精心规划的高分辨率理想模拟运行以及由太阳风观测驱动的实际事件的案例研究。对于后者，将通过与THEMIS航天器的磁层观测结果进行进一步分析和验证。湍流是一种广泛存在于流体系统中的现象，空间等离子体中存在大量的湍流过程。地球的磁层是研究这些过程的天然实验室，在这里模拟和直接观测都是可能的。因此，这个项目的结果将对各种各样的研究领域产生影响。

This project will perform and analyze numerical magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the terrestrial magnetosphere with the aim to investigate the causes of large-scale, low-frequency turbulence in the plasma sheet and its implications for convection, transport, and the energy budget. With respect to potential causes of turbulence, the relative roles of turbulence in the upstream solar wind, reconnection, and other internal processes will be investigated. In addition, the role of coupling to the ionosphere will be examined. A well-documented and successfully validated MHD model will be run on state-of-the-art NASA and NSF XSEDE supercomputer systems to perform a well planned set of high resolution idealized simulation runs as well as case studies driven by solar wind observations for real events. For the latter, the results will be further analyzed and verified by comparison with magnetosphere observations from the THEMIS spacecraft. Turbulence is a phenomenon that occurs widely in fluid systems and turbulent processes are abundant in space plasmas. The Earth's magnetosphere is a natural laboratory for studying such processes, where both simulations and direct observations are possible. Results from this project therefore will have impact on a broad variety of research areas.