Modeling Physical Processes in the Solar Wind and Local Interstellar Medium with a Multi-Scale Fluid-Kinetic Simulation Suite

University Of Alabama In Huntsville, Huntsville AL

Investigators

Abstract

Flows of partially ionized plasma are frequently characterized by the presence of both thermal and nonthermal populations of ions. For example, this occurs in the outer heliosphere: the part of interstellar space beyond the solar system whose properties are determined by the solar wind (SW) interaction with the local interstellar medium (LISM). Simulation of the SW-LISM interaction problem with data-driven boundary conditions, requires the application of adaptive mesh refinement technologies and petascale supercomputers. The objective of this proposal is to use the Blue Waters system to model solar winds (SW) flows in the inner and outer heliosphere, and compare the simulation results with observational data, thereby revealing the fundamental physics of non-thermal plasma-neutral flows. The project will address a variety of physical phenomena occurring throughout the solar system, e.g., charge exchange processes between neutral and charged particles, the birth of pick-up ions (PUIs), the origin of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), turbulence, the interplay of the heliopause instability and magnetic reconnection at the SW-LISM interface, properties of the heliotail, etc. Additionally, the project will fit the simulation results with observational data to make it possible to constrain the properties of the LISM and refine time-dependent SW models. The work proposed here is expected to have major impact in several areas. The project will provide a leap forward in the computation and simulation of complex charged and neutral gas systems. The development of codes that embrace "coupling complexity" via the self-consistent incorporation of multiple physical scales and processes in models is viewed as a pivotal development in the different plasma physics areas for the current decade. The ubiquity of the underlying model suggests numerous applications in space physics, astrophysics, and, in general, plasma physics problems. The components of our physical model and corresponding code routines in the publicly accessible simulation suite may be also useful to model plasma-beam interactions in Tokamak fusion devices to be implemented in the burning plasma experiment ITER. Besides the impact on the modeling of complex physical systems, the project anticipates that their approach to computational resource management for complex codes utilizing multiple algorithm technologies will be a major advance on current approaches. Additionally, collaboration with the Blue Waters team will further promote the application of adaptive technologies to contemporary plasma physics problems through the development of publicly available packages suitable for multiple applications. Finally, the project will provide leadership in promoting computational science and plasma physics within the UAH campus and, through the training of a broad spectrum of specialists, foster new technologies within an EPSCoR state.