SHINE: Incorporating 3D Reduced Magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) Turbulence Simulations and Kinetic Plasma Physics into a Two-Fluid Model of the Solar Wind

University Of New Hampshire, Durham NH

Investigators

Abstract

With this three-year SHINE project, the researchers will explore the means by which the solar wind and Alfven-wave turbulence are affected by variations in the amplitude, wavenumber spectrum, and frequency spectrum of the waves that are launched by the Sun. The project team will also consider the effects of magnetic geometry (in particular, the degree of super-radial expansion) on the properties of turbulence and the background solar wind, which will enable them to explore the possible relevance of Alfven-wave turbulence to the heating and acceleration of both the fast solar wind and the slow solar wind. The team will compare the results obtained from numerical simulations to a wide range of observations of coronal holes and the near-Sun solar wind, including measurements of Faraday rotation, ion temperatures, and electron densities. This research project is expected to significantly advance the community's understanding of the role that Alfven-wave turbulence may play in the origin of the solar wind. During this project, the team will co-organize sessions on turbulence and the solar wind at the annual SHINE Workshop. The PI will also deliver lectures at summer schools on plasma physics and heliospheric physics for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students. The PI will incorporate results from this project into courses that he teaches at the University of New Hampshire, to expose students to current research in heliospheric physics. The project team will also share and discuss the results of this work with members of the Solar Probe Plus FIELDS and SWEAP experiments, to offer guidance as to the possible relation between future measurements from Solar Probe Plus and Alfven-wave turbulence in the solar wind. The research and EPO agenda supports the Strategic Goals of the AGS Division in discovery, learning, diversity, and interdisciplinary research.