CAREER: Study of the Most Energetic SEPs from Space with the State-of-the-Art Experiment AMS-02

该项目的目标是提高我们对太阳高能粒子（SEP）事件的理解。SEP事件是指太阳产生一股高能粒子流，其速度接近光速。SEP事件是严重的空间天气现象，可能对太空中的宇航员造成身体伤害，并有可能损坏卫星。它们还导致地球高层大气电离增加，可能导致通信问题，并可能影响全球定位系统定位服务。这个项目将分析一套全面的SEP测量，以提高我们对产生SEP事件的机制的理解。通过组合来自多个来源的数据，该项目将生成用于对这些事件进行建模的基线。该项目还将包括面向K-12学生的教育活动，特别是将包括对年轻妇女和代表性不足的少数群体的宣传，该项目的主要数据来源将是2011年安装在国际空间站上的阿尔法磁谱仪（AMS-02）。AMS-02仪器将提供对太阳粒子最高能量范围内的太阳质子和氦的前所未有的测量。将AMS-02数据与中子监测器等其他仪器的数据相结合，将有可能生成从几百MeV到近1 TeV的完整粒子谱图。分析质子和He++离子的光谱图将有可能确定不同的加速机制在产生这些高能粒子中所起的作用。研究人员将建立一个SEP事件数据库，供整个空间物理界使用。它们还将制作教育工具，包括可用于公共宣传的在线工具。这些工具将成为由NSF和DOE资助的Quarknet教育和推广计划的一部分。

The goal of this project is to improve our understanding of Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events. An SEP event is a situation in which the sun produces a stream of highly energetic particles with velocities approaching the speed of light. SEP events are severe space weather phenomena that can be physically harmful to astronauts in space and have the potential to damage satellites. They also lead to increased ionization in Earth's upper atmosphere and can lead to communications problems and can affect GPS location services. This project will analyze a comprehensive set of SEP measurements to improve our understanding of the mechanisms that produce SEP events. By combining data from several sources, the project will generate a baseline for modeling these events. The project will also include educational activities geared toward K-12 students and in particular will include outreach to young women and under-represented minorities.The primary source of data for this project will be the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) that was installed on the International Space Station in 2011. The AMS-02 instrument will provide unprecedented measurements of solar protons and helium in the highest energy range of solar particles. Coupling the AMS-02 data with data from other instruments such as neutron monitors will make it possible to generate complete particle spectrograms from a few hundred MeV to almost 1 TeV. Analysis of the spectrograms of protons and He++ ions will make it possible to determine the roles that different acceleration mechanisms play in producing these high energy particles. The researchers will generate a database of SEP events that will be made available to the entire space physics community. They will also generate educational tools including online tools that can be used for public outreach. These tools will become a part of the Quarknet education and outreach program that is funded by NSF and DOE.