| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TERASAWA Toshio Univ. Tokyo, Faculty Sci., Professor, 大学院・理学系研究科, 教授 (30134662)
MATSUMOTO Hiroshi Kyoto Univ., RASC, Professor, 超高層電波研究センター, 教授 (00026139)
MAEZAWA Kiyoshi ISAS, Professor, 宇宙科学研究所, 教授 (60126901)
HOSHINO Masahiro Univ. Tokyo, Faculty Sci., Professor, 大学院・理学系研究科, 教授 (90241257)
NAGAI Tsugunobu Tokyo Inst. Tech, Faulty Sci., Professor, 理学部, 教授 (60260527)
|
|---|
| Research Abstract |
Past satellite observations and theoretical studies have shown that the transport of energy, mass and momentum from the solar wind through the magnetosphere and the polar ionosphere varies dynamically, and the relevant physical processes are recognized to be common in other planetary and astrophysical magnetospheres as well. While the magnetospheric structure is generally understood from macroscopic MHD viewpoints with assumption of thermal equilibrium, it is essential to understand macroscopic processes in terms of microscopic physical processes. According to recent satellite observations, space plasmas are generally not in thermal equilibrium, but microscopic physical processes play important roles in energy conversion and plasma mixing processes. For example, GEOTAIL observations have revealed the existence of an extremely thin current sheet in which ion distribution functions are non-gyrotropic and non-adiabatic, and hence the macroscopic scale length becomes comparable to ion gyro
… More
radii characteristic of microscopic processes. This suggests the importance of cross-scale coupling between the macroscopic structure and microscopic physical processes.
In this research project, evolutions of elementary processes and their coupling processes are studied, based on numerical simulations in comparison with satellite observations, in order to quantitatively understand their roles in cross-scale coupling processes and construct a unified model of the dynamic magnetosphere. Coordinated data analysis workshops of multiple spacecraft observations were conducted in the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) under the auspice of European Space Agency (ESA) as well as with the grant-in-aid of this research project. These international workshops have brought forth a number of significant results, as summarized in a book published by ISSI. The international collaborative studies among Japanese, European, American and Russian scientists have also been effective for making good human relationships, which will be useful in future international collaborations. Less
|
