地球的磁層與行星際空間充滿了密度極低但導電性極高的電漿，是天然的磁化無碰撞電漿物理實驗室。由於碰撞頻率極低，許多各種不同時間及空間尺度的電漿現象可以在太空及磁層電漿環境中産生，但在一般實驗室卻不易複製。過去十年，有數個高解析度多顆衛星成功的在地球磁層及太陽風進行電漿及磁場的探測，對於太空電漿物理的理論及觀測的比較有很大的進展。高解度的多點人造衞星探測可以同步觀測電漿動力發展過程中微觀及宏觀尺度的現象，對於建立適當的可應用性之多尺度理論模式亦是很大的挑戰。本研究計畫之主要目標為進行太空電漿的理論與觀測研究；尤其是磁場重連及非熱力平衡導致的電漿不穏定性。我們將發展混合之微觀動力及磁流體物理模式，探討磁層頂的磁重連現象及發生於太陽風及磁層的磁鏡不穩定性，並分析高解析度之多點式人造衛星MMS 及THEMIS之電漿與磁場觀測資料，並與理論模式相互比較及驗證。研究重點將包括將最近發展之磁流體重建磁重連結構的模式擴展至包含電漿微觀尺度的磁重連擴散區，並利用高解析度人造衛星資料呈現磁重連的微觀及磁流體尺度之二維磁場及電漿結構。我們將分析高解析度之磁鏡不穏定性結構之電漿與磁場資料，並與微觀動力及電漿流體理論及模擬相互驗證。 ;The Earth's magnetosphere and the interplanetary space are the natural laboratories for the study of highly conducting and magnetized plasmas. Due to the lack of collisions many plasma phenomena with various spatial and temporal scales may occur uniquely in the space plasma environments. With the launch of several high resolution multiple spacecraft missions in the magnetosphere and solar wind for the past decade, the interplays between observations, theories and simulations have become possible. Simultaneous observations of the kinetic and fluid-scale plasma phenomena have also posed great challenges to the theoretical and modeling studies of space plasma physics. The proposed project is aimed at studying the observational and theoretical aspects of magnetic reconnection and nonthermal plasma instabilities occurring in the space plasma environments. Mixed kinetic and fluid models will be developed for the study of magnetopause reconnection and plasma mirror instability occurring in the magnetosphere and solar wind. The observational data based on multiple spacecraft including the high resolution MMS and THEMIS missions will be analyzed and compared with the theories and simulations. In particular, the present MHD reconstruction models will be extended to incorporate the diffusion region near the reconnection site to reveal the kinetic and MHD scale physics for the magnetopause current layers. The mirror instability will be studied observationally and theoretically based on the kinetic and plasma fluid models.
