Heliospheric and Planetary Research 2020-2023

我们将开展一个关于内日球层太阳风和土星环和卫星动力学的研究项目。帕克太阳探测器于2018年8月发射，将花费7年时间从越来越接近太阳表面的地方采集太阳等离子体，即太阳风。在其任务的最后一部分，它将与太阳的距离小于10个太阳半径，然后才能真正被称为“接触太阳”。这项极具挑战性的任务将彻底改变我们对太阳等离子体如何从日冕流出并填充日球层空间的看法。太阳风也是太阳和地球之间的纽带，驱动着控制地球磁层的空间天气，它可以对卫星和通信网络等技术系统产生深远的影响。太阳风是热的（比太阳表面热得多），并且有超音速流动。我们将使用帕克太阳探测器的数据来描述太阳风在内日球层的特征，并显示它如何随着与太阳的距离而变化。我们将开展一项协调的研究计划，利用数据分析和最先进的等离子体模拟来揭示内日球层的等离子体动力学。这将帮助我们解决日冕加热和太阳风加速的长期问题。例如，等离子体湍流一直存在于太阳风中，了解它是如何通过从大尺度到小尺度的能量级联来促进等离子体加热的，是天体物理学中的一个关键问题。我们的研究结果将帮助我们了解太阳风是如何从太阳流出并充满日球层的。我们还将利用我们的结果来理解空间和天体物理等离子体中基本等离子体过程的运作和作用，如湍流耗散，等离子体不稳定性和冲击加速度。土星主环的外层是一个区域，在那里，破坏天体的力量（潮汐）和使它们聚集的力量（自重力）之间保持着近似的平衡。在这里，物体可以形成，与周围的物质相互作用，甚至由于碰撞而破裂。我们将利用卡西尼号的图像来了解这些过程以及附近卫星的作用。研究这些机制可以让我们更深入地了解行星的形成和演化。在任务期间，土星卫星与背景恒星的图像将继续用于约束土星内部模型，同时研究卫星的形状将为我们提供有关其内部结构的信息。

We will conduct a programme of research concerning the solar wind in the inner heliosphere and the dynamics of the rings and satellites of Saturn.The Parker Solar Probe spacecraft was launched in August 2018, and will spend 7 years sampling the Sun's plasma, the solar wind, from closer and closer to the solar surface. In the last part of its mission it will be less than 10 solar radii from the Sun, and then could be truly said to be "touching the Sun." This incredibly challenging mission will revolutionize our view of how the Sun's plasma flows from the corona and fills the space of what is called the heliosphere. The solar wind is also the link between the Sun and the Earth, driving the Space Weather that controls the Earth's magnetosphere, and which can have profound effects on technological systems such as satellites and communication networks. The solar wind is hot (much hotter than the surface of the sun), and has a supersonic flow. We will use data from Parker Solar Probe to characterize the solar wind in the inner heliosphere, and show how it changes with distance from the Sun. We will carry out a coordinated programme of research using data analysis and state-of-the-art plasma simulations to reveal the plasma dynamics of the inner heliosphere. This will help us to solve long-standing problems about coronal heating and the acceleration of the solar wind. For example, plasma turbulence is ever-present in the solar wind, and understanding how it contributes to plasma heating, through a cascade of energy from large to small scales, is a key problem in astrophysics. Our results will help us understand how the solar wind flows from Sun and fills the heliosphere. We will also use our results to understand the operation and role of fundamental plasma processes, such as turbulent dissipation, plasma instabilities and shock acceleration, in space and astrophysical plasmas. The outer part of Saturn's main rings is a region where there is an approximate balance between forces that disrupt bodies (tides) and those that bring them together (self-gravity). Here objects can form, interact with surrounding material and even break up due to collisions. We will use the trove of Cassini images to understand these processes and the role of nearby moons. Studying these mechanisms gives a wider insight into planetary formation and evolution. Images of Saturn's moons against background stars over the duration of the mission will continue to be used to place constraint's on models of Saturn's interior while studying the moons' shapes will give us information about their internal structure.