Ions in near-Earth space

该提议的目标是利用卫星测量来确定近地磁层中的等离子体分布。地球等离子体环境不断接收来自太阳风和电离层的粒子。这些粒子决定了地球空间环境的动态。粒子群的观测和预测对于磁层建模至关重要，对于现代通信系统的运行和未来空间任务的规划至关重要。有许多可行的磁层模型。然而，他们的预测仍然受到模糊的粒子分布输入的影响。该提案旨在通过提供粒子分布函数来纠正这种情况，这些函数随近地空间的位置、太阳风参数、磁湍流强度和粒子种类而定。为了实现这一点，我们将根据欧洲航天器“探测器”测量的粒子数据计算分布函数，该航天器的优点是同时覆盖一个半太阳周期、广泛的粒子能量范围和探测离子组成。到目前为止，由于观测资料稀少，无法进行这样的研究。在获得粒子分布函数作为边界条件之后，我们将使用它们作为高级磁层模型的输入。我们将对一个特定的磁暴事件进行测试，通过使用我们的新方法来量化粒子数量，以确定磁层动力学预测的改进。这项广泛的研究涉及一名博士生，他将成为地球等离子体环境的新专家。

The goal of this proposal is to characterise the plasma distribution in the near-Earth magnetosphere using satellite measurements. The terrestrial plasma environment continuously receives particles from thesolar wind and the ionosphere. These particles define the dynamics of the Earth's space environment. The observation and prediction of the particle population is essential for magnetospheric modeling, vitally important for operating modern communication systems and planing of future space missions. There are many viable magnetospheric models. However, their predictions still suffer from ambiguous particle distribution inputs. This proposal aims to remedy this situation by providing particle distribution functions that scale with location in the near-Earth space, solar wind parameters, the strength of magnetic turbulence and depend on particle species. To achieve this, we will calculate the distribution functions from particle data measured by the European spacecraft ``Cluster'', which excels by simultaneous coverage of one and a half solar cycle, a wide particle energy range and the detection of the ion composition. Until now, the sparsity of observations prohibited such a study. Having obtained the particle distribution functions as boundary conditions, we will then use them as an input in advanced magnetospheric models. We will do a test for a specific magnetic storm event to identify an improvement in the prediction of magnetospheric dynamics, by using our novel approach to quantify particle populations. This extensive study involves a PhD student who will become a new specialist for Earth's plasma environment.