A challenge to space scientists to higher understand our hazardous near-Earth space environment has been set in a brand new study led by the University of Birmingham.
The research represents step one towards recent theories and methods that may help scientists predict and analyse the behaviour of particles in space. It has implications for theoretical research, in addition to for practical applications akin to space weather forecasting.
The research focused on two bands of energetic particles in near earth space, known as the Radiation Belts, or the Van Allen Belts. These particles are trapped inside the Earth’s magnetosphere and might damage electronics on satellites and spacecraft passing through, in addition to posing risks to astronauts.
Understanding how these particles behave has been a goal for physicists and engineers for a long time. Because the Sixties, researchers have used principles contained inside ‘quasilinear models’ to elucidate how the charged particles move through space.
In the brand new study, nevertheless, researchers have found evidence that the usual theory may not apply as often as previously assumed. The team of 16 scientists, from institutions within the UK, USA and Finland, explored the boundaries of ordinary theories. The appliance of the quasilinear theory can seem straightforward, but in truth integrating it into space physics models in accordance with scientific measurements made in space is a fragile procedure. This paper breaks down the challenges behind this process.
The findings are published in a special edition of Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences: “Editor’s Challenge in Space Physics: Solved and Unsolved Problems in Space Physics.”
Lead creator, Dr Oliver Allanson, from the Space Environment and Radio Engineering (SERENE) Group on the University of Birmingham, said: “Gaining a greater understanding of the behaviour of those particles is crucial for interpreting satellite data and for understanding the underlying physics of space environments.”
Researchers involved within the study are based within the UK on the Universities of Birmingham, Exeter, Northumbria, Warwick, St Andrews, and on the British Antarctic Survey; within the USA on the University of California at Los Angeles, University of Iowa and the US Air Force Research Lab, Latest Mexico; and in Finland on the University of Helsinki.
Next steps for the research will include an enhanced theoretical description based on the findings on this work, that may then be utilized in space weather models to forecast the behaviour of those hazardous particles in near-Earth space.
