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PROPOSAL SUMMARY THIS PROPOSAL IS FOR CONTINUED FUNDING OF RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE IN SUPPORT OF THE SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE EXTENDED MAGNETOSPHERE MULTISCALE (MMS) MISSION. THE MISSION IS LED BY DR. JIM BURCH AT SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE. THIS PROPOSED PROJECT IS LED BY PROF. W H. MATTHAEUS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE CO-I OF MMS AND A MEMBER OF THE MMS THEORY AND MODELING TEAM. THE DELAWARE TEAM HAS PRIORITIZED THEORETICAL RESEARCH EMPLOYING RESEARCH FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING HOW RECONNECTION OPERATES IN A DY- NAMIC TURBULENT ENVIRONMENT. MANY OF OUR PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE BEEN BASED ON NUMERICAL SIMULATION EMPLOYING MHD HALL MHD HYBRID KINETIC PIC AND FULL ELECTROMAGNETIC PIC PLASMA MODELS. THE FIELD HAS ARRIVED AT THE STAGE IN WHICH INFLUENCES SUCH AS MULTIPLE X- POINTS SECONDARY ISLAND AND FLUX TUBES NONSTEADY BEHAVIOR AND CASCADE OF FLUCTUATIONS ARE ALL BEING RECOGNIZED AS HAVING SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON RECONNECTION RATES HEATING AND PARTICLE ACCELERATION. BASED ON THESE SIMULATIONS STUDIES NUMEROUS STRATEGIES AND DIAGNOSTICS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED THAT ARE RELEVANT TO UNDERSTANDING THESE NONLINEAR PROCESSES IN PLASMA TUR- BULENCE AND IN TURBULENT RECONNECTION. THIS IS AN EXCITING TIME FOR OUR THEORETICAL INTERESTS BECAUSE SINCE THE MMS LAUNCH WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE SAME SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS WHICH WE NOW PURSUE WITH ADDITION OF MMS DATA ANALYSIS. SUCH TURBULENCE AND RECONNECTION RELATED DATA ANALYSIS NOW OCCUPIES A SUBSTANTIAL FRACTION OF OUR EFFORT ALTHOUGH WE MAINTAIN A CLOSE CONTACT WITH THEORY AND MODELING IN THIS RESEARCH AS WELL AND ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WE HAVE INCORPORATED MODELING RESULTS WITHIN AN MMS ANALYSIS STUDY. HERE WE PROPOSE A THREE YEAR CONTINUATION OF THIS PROJECT. WE EXPECT TO CONTINUE ALONG THE SAME LINES OF BASIC PLASMA PHYSICS AND PLASMA TURBULENCE STUDIES THAT HAVE CHARACTERIZED OUR PRIOR YEARS UNDER MMS SUPPORT. THESE RESULTS ARE REVIEWED HERE. OUR RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS REMAIN IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH THE THEORETICAL AND OBSERVATIONAL GOALS OF THE MMS MISSION AND ACCORDINGLY WE MAINTAIN CLOSE CONTACT WITH MMS PROJECT AND INSTRUMENT TEAMS.

$540,753FY2020National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA

University Of Delaware, Newark DE

Investigators

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PROPOSAL SUMMARY THIS PROPOSAL IS FOR CONTINUED FUNDING OF RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE IN SUPPORT OF THE SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE EXTENDED MAGNETOSPHERE MULTISCALE (MMS) MISSION. THE MISSION IS LED BY DR. JIM BURCH AT SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE. THIS PROPOSED PROJECT IS LED BY PROF. W H. MATTHAEUS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE CO-I OF MMS AND A MEMBER OF THE MMS THEORY AND MODELING TEAM. THE DELAWARE TEAM HAS PRIORITIZED THEORETICAL RESEARCH EMPLOYING RESEARCH FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING HOW RECONNECTION OPERATES IN A DY- NAMIC TURBULENT ENVIRONMENT. MANY OF OUR PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE BEEN BASED ON NUMERICAL SIMULATION EMPLOYING MHD HALL MHD HYBRID KINETIC PIC AND FULL ELECTROMAGNETIC PIC PLASMA MODELS. THE FIELD HAS ARRIVED AT THE STAGE IN WHICH INFLUENCES SUCH AS MULTIPLE X- POINTS SECONDARY ISLAND AND FLUX TUBES NONSTEADY BEHAVIOR AND CASCADE OF FLUCTUATIONS ARE ALL BEING RECOGNIZED AS HAVING SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON RECONNECTION RATES HEATING AND PARTICLE ACCELERATION. BASED ON THESE SIMULATIONS STUDIES NUMEROUS STRATEGIES AND DIAGNOSTICS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED THAT ARE RELEVANT TO UNDERSTANDING THESE NONLINEAR PROCESSES IN PLASMA TUR- BULENCE AND IN TURBULENT RECONNECTION. THIS IS AN EXCITING TIME FOR OUR THEORETICAL INTERESTS BECAUSE SINCE THE MMS LAUNCH WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE SAME SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS WHICH WE NOW PURSUE WITH ADDITION OF MMS DATA ANALYSIS. SUCH TURBULENCE AND RECONNECTION RELATED DATA ANALYSIS NOW OCCUPIES A SUBSTANTIAL FRACTION OF OUR EFFORT ALTHOUGH WE MAINTAIN A CLOSE CONTACT WITH THEORY AND MODELING IN THIS RESEARCH AS WELL AND ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WE HAVE INCORPORATED MODELING RESULTS WITHIN AN MMS ANALYSIS STUDY. HERE WE PROPOSE A THREE YEAR CONTINUATION OF THIS PROJECT. WE EXPECT TO CONTINUE ALONG THE SAME LINES OF BASIC PLASMA PHYSICS AND PLASMA TURBULENCE STUDIES THAT HAVE CHARACTERIZED OUR PRIOR YEARS UNDER MMS SUPPORT. THESE RESULTS ARE REVIEWED HERE. OUR RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS REMAIN IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH THE THEORETICAL AND OBSERVATIONAL GOALS OF THE MMS MISSION AND ACCORDINGLY WE MAINTAIN CLOSE CONTACT WITH MMS PROJECT AND INSTRUMENT TEAMS. · GrantIndex