Reconstruction of space plasma structures in four-dimensional spacetime from multi-spacecraft observations

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24740337
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Space and upper atmospheric physics
• Research Institution: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
• Principal Investigator: HASEGAWA Hiroshi 独立行政法人宇宙航空研究開発機構, 宇宙科学研究所, 助教 (50435799)
• Research Collaborator: BENGT Sonnerup 米国ダートマス大学, セイヤー工学部, 名誉教授 ; NAKAMURA Takuma オーストリア科学アカデミー, 宇宙科学研究所, 研究員
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 衛星観測 / 地球・惑星磁気圏 / 磁気リコネクション / 宇宙プラズマ / データ解析手法 / 磁気圏界面 / 磁気フラックスロープ / 時空間構造

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The objective of our research is to develop novel data analysis techniques for the reconstruction of space plasma structures in four-dimensional spacetime from multi-spacecraft measurements. We successfully developed methods for accurately reconstructing temporal evolution of two-dimensional (2-D) structures, for reconstructing three-dimensional (3-D) magnetic field and plasma structures from two-spacecraft measurements, for reconstructing the electron diffusion region in 2-D magnetic reconnection, etc. One of the methods, the 3-D reconstruction method, was successfully applied to THEMIS spacecraft observations of Earth's magnetopause. We found that a magnetic flux rope generated by magnetopause reconnection has a significant 3-D structure, suggesting the operation of 3-D reconnection. We are now almost ready for the analysis of high spatio-temporal resolution data to be taken by NASA's four-spacecraft Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, successfully launched on 12 March 2015.

Free Research Field

宇宙プラズマ物理学