This collaborative research team will investigate the relative roles of shock acceleration, flare acceleration, suprathermal particle composition, and particle transport as a function of position (along the shock and/or the longitudinal distance from the solar source region). The relative contributions of flare and shock acceleration to solar energetic particle (SEP) events and their resulting compositional signatures are as yet undetermined, and this fact provides the motivation for this work. The research team will use observations of specific individual SEP events obtained from multiple spacecraft, rather than attempting to infer phenomenology through statistical studies of many events measured by a single spacecraft under varying conditions, as has been done in the past. This approach will allow a more accurate determination of the driving coronal mass ejection's source region and of its related properties. The team's analysis technique will also provide a more global view of solar activity and non-local effects, which may play an important role in the generation of SEP events and in determining their longitudinal extent. This effort will directly address open scientific questions regarding SEP composition and particle transport.
Understanding the production, composition, and extent of SEP events is critical for accurate predictions of space weather and its potential impact on astronauts and satellites. The team will disseminate their scientific results through published articles, scientific talks, and the web pages associated with the relevant NASA spacecraft missions. This project will contribute to the training of a postdoctoral researcher as a co-investigator at George Mason University, and, through an international collaboration, a graduate student in Germany. The team will also supervise and train students at the University of Arizona and the Naval Research Laboratory who will work on this project. The Lead Principal Investigator at the California Institute of Technology is an active participant in "Solar Week," a local program designed to encourage high school girls to pursue careers in science.
