Data-validated, Self-consistent Modelling of Turbulence and Particle Transport in the Heliosphere

• Applicants: Privatdozent Dr. Horst Fichtner; Professor Dr. Bernd Heber
• Subject Area: Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: from 2012 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 221245396

With the proposed 3-year research project we intend to continue the successful collaboration between the research groups of the two applicants H. Fichtner (Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum) and B. Heber (Christian-Albrechts-Universitaet zu Kiel) with M.S. Potgieter (North-West University, Campus Potchefstroom, South Africa) on the topic of `particle transport in heliospheric magnetic field structures'. The research is still very timely in view of the upcoming space missions Solar Orbiter, Solar Probe Plus (to be launched in 2018), and THOR (2026) that will observe energetic particles and the solar wind plasma. A key for a comprehensive understanding of the expected measurements will be the simultaneous modelling of turbulence in the dynamic plasma and of energetic particle transport. In improvement of previous approaches we will, for the first time, apply a model suite being self-consistent as far as possible and featuring the novel aspects of detailed comparisons with three-dimensional multi-point spacecraft data, realistic inner (solar) boundary conditions, and an explicit consideration of the slab and quasi-two-dimensional components of the fluctuations of the heliospheric magnetic field. This will enable us to address the following central science question: can current combined state-of-the-art kinetic transport, magnetohydrodynamic, and turbulence evolution models be used to explain time-dependent, three-dimensional multi-point spacecraft data? In order to answer this question we will, on the one hand, model the energetic particle transport simultaneously with the solar wind dynamics and the turbulence evolution in transient as well as recurrent structures using high-resolution magnetic field and plasma measurements as input. On the other hand, we will investigate particular periods of spacecraft measurements of transient and recurrent structures as well as solar energetic particle events during different phases of the solar activity cycle in order to validate the suite of combined models and to constrain model parameters. This way, we will determine the transport models and their parameters that allow to explain energetic particle data from different spacecraft and define criteria for their plausibility.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: South Africa
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Marius S. Potgieter