This award supports a three year collaborative research project between Professor Bernard Jackson of the University of California, San Diego and Professor Masayoshi Kojima of Nagoya University in Japan. The researchers will be undertaking a study of 3-D solar wind structure and dynamics using heliospheric tomography. The solar atmosphere (the solar wind and the structures within it) forms a solar-terrestrial connection extending from the corona to the magnetosphere of Earth. This project involves the analysis of solar remotely sensed data, which provide densities, velocities, and other physical parameters of heliospheric and coronal plasmas. The primary goal will be the three-dimensional reconstruction and presentation of structures that interact with the Earth using tomographic methods. The researchers will then use these observational data to better define and answer questions such as the shape of quiet solar wind structures which pass the Earth, their interaction with the ambient solar wind plasma, and their effects in modifying embedded solar magnetic fields. The densities, velocities and magnetic fields determined in situ at Earth by spacecraft will be used to check the accuracy of the remote sensing techniques.
This project brings together the efforts of two laboratories that have complementary expertise and research capabilities. Results of the research will be used to map solar wind structures, determine the extent of their interactions with the Earth and locate their origins on the Sun. The technique can also be used with a large variety of ground and space-based data systems. This research advances international human resources through the participation of graduate students. Through the exchange of ideas and technology, this project will broaden our base of basic knowledge and promote international understanding and cooperation. ***
