Project Details
Projekt
Understanding the acceleration of ultra-relativistic electrons and its dependence on the plasma density
Applicant
Professor Yuri Shprits, Ph.D.
Subject Area
Atmospheric Science
Geophysics
Geophysics
Term
since 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 462853228
The observations from the recent NASA’s Van Allen Probes mission showed that the ultra-relativistic electrons are sporadically accelerated and disappear. The ultra-relativistic electrons showed unusual structures such as remnant narrow rings. These observations raised a number of most compelling science questions such as how are these particles accelerated to such extremely high energies and what are the preferential conditions in the magnetosphere or the solar wind that could support such acceleration. In this project we will use modeling and observations to address these compelling questions. Recent studies suggested that background plasma density plays an important role for the dynamics of the ultra-relativistic electrons in the Van Allen Radiation belts. We will analyse 7 years of Van Allen Probes plasma density and radiation belt electron flux data and contrast the temporal and spatial evolution of the plasma density with the behaviour of the electron flux at different energies. Changes in the plasma density will be incorporated into a numerical model of the radiation belts (Versatile Electron Radiation Belt, VERB) by calculating density-dependent diffusion coefficients to describe the effects of wave-particle interactions and utilising in-situ density measurements. In doing so, the VERB model can be used as a test-bed to quantify the radiation belt dynamics resulting from plasma density changes, complementing the analysis of the Van Allen Probes data.
DFG Programme
Research Units
