News Report: Plasma Outbreaks Near Earth Linked to Magnetic Reconnecting and Kinetic Instability
The VLASIATOR supercomputer, designed to simulate the squeal of space space, showed that plasma outbreaks near the Earth depend simultaneously on magnetic reconnecting and kinetic instability. These discoveries are of great importance for the design of spacecraft, scientific research, and improving space weather forecasts.
The VLASIATOR supercomputer, which was developed at the University of Helsinki, has demonstrated that the two main theories regarding the appearance of plasma outbreaks are valid. These outbreaks, called plasmoids, occur on the night side of the magnetosphere and are associated with a sharp increase in the polar radiance.
“Phenomena associated with plasmoids cause the most intense, but difficultly predictable magnetic disturbances, which can lead, for example, to malfunctions in electric networks,” comments Professor Minna Palmot from the University of Helsinki.
Research in this area has been conducted since the 1960s. Scientists created two competing theories: one connects the formation of plasmoids with magnetic recovery, and the other explains their appearance by kinetic instability.
“It turned out that the causes are much more complicated than previously expected,” says Palmrot.
Thanks to the simulation of VLASIATOR, which required the power of a supercomputer, scientists were able to simulate the space squad in six dimensions for the first time. The software development process alone took over 10 years.
The results of the study were recently published in the authoritative scientific journal NatureGeoscience.