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DEPARTMENT FOR SPACE PLASMA PHYSICS
The Department for Space Plasma Physics was created in 1992.
The first leader of the department was
Dr.Sci., Professor A. K. Yukhymuk.
Since 2009 Dr.Sci. O. N. Kryshtal is the
head of the Department.
Theoretical investigations of plasma phenomena on the Sun, in the
solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere are carried out in the
Department. The main lines of investigation are: building new models
of the impulsive energy release and transformation in solar flares;
development of the theory of generation of electromagnetic radiation
in the solar atmosphere and the magnetosphere of the Earth; studying
plasma instabilities on the Sun, in the solar wind and the
magnetosphere of the Earth. The investigations revealed that the
generation of Alfven waves and their interaction with plasma particles
explain many new phenomena recorded in space-based and ground-based
observations.
Cosmic Ray (CR) Laboratory headed by Ph.D. B. O. Shakhov
forms part of the Department of Cosmic Plasma Physics. Studies in cosmic ray
physics and in the field of cosmic ray interactions with interplanetary
medium are conducted in the laboratory.
The cosmic ray station situated in Dymer (Kyiv region) is one of the
basic stations of the international neutron monitor network. The
cosmic ray monitoring is regularly carried out in the laboratory and
the data from the neutron monitor "Kiev" are published in
international publications. The CR laboratory takes part in the
international project "Cosmic ray monitoring by using
ground-based and stratospheric methods".
THE STAFF OF THE DEPARTMENT:
MAIN RESEARCH AREAS:
Plasma phenomena in the ionosphere and magnetosphere of the
Earth, in the solar wind, and the atmosphere of the Sun:
Kinetics and magnetohydrodynamics of plasma instability excitetion under cosmical conditions.
Theory of nonlinear wave interactions in space plasmas.
Theory of plasma heating and charged particle acceleration in the Earth's magnetosphere and solar atmosphere.
Transformation and transport of wave energy in spaca plasmas.
Turbulence of weakly ionized plasma.
Space hydrodynamics, shock waves, physics of interstellar medium, supernova remnants and stellar winds.
Solar Cosmic Rays, Galactic Cosmic Rays in Solar System (the Laboratory of Cosmic Ray Physics):
The exact analytical solution of the kinetic and diffusion transport equations.
Distribution of solar cosmic rays in an interplanetary medium (kinetics and diffusion).
Distribution and acceleration of galactic cosmic rays in astrophysical objects.
Study of driving of charged particles in curvilinear magnetic fields (Hamilton formalism, drift theory, methods of differential geometry).
BASIC RESULTS OBTAINED BY WORKERS OF THE DEPARTMENT:
Space Plasma Physics
In the framework of kinetic plasma theory we derived the
equation that governs the excitation, nonlinear evolution and damping of
kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs), taking into account both the ion Larmor radius
and the ion cyclotron frequency effects.
The proton-beam model for solar flares has been elaborated.
In this model the bulk energization of flaring plasma proceeds via
intermediate beam-driven KAW turbulence. The linear and nonlinear aspects
of the impulsive plasma energization during solar flares are studied.
The nonlinear stage of Alfven wave phase mixing and
competition of the collissional damping, collisionless Landau damping,
and nonlinear damping of phase-mixed Alfven waves in the solar corona
was investigated.
Nonlinear interaction of upper hybrid pump wave (UHW)
with kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) and radio waves (RWs) is investigated
on the basis of two-fluid magnetohydrodynamics. Nonlinear dispersion
equation describing 3-wave interaction and instability growth rates
of the processes UHW=KAW+UHW and UHW=KAW+RW were found. Our investigations
show that parametric process UHW=KAW+UHW may be an effective mechanism
of the KAW generation in plasma where upper hybrid waves are excited by
a plasma instability. The broadening of UHW spectrum is expected in that
case. We also shown that as a result of decay UHW=KAW+RW,
the electromagnetic radio waves which propagate in both parallel and
perpendicular directions to the external magnetic field are generated.
The instability growth rate is much higher in the case of left polarized
electromagnetic waves generation than in the case of linearly polarised
electromagnetic waves.
In quasi-hydrodynamic approximation, an analytic expression
for the spectrum of plasma irregularities generated through turbulent
mixing in the lower ionosphere was obtained.
Space hydrodynamics, shock waves, physics of interstellar
medium, supernova remnants and stellar winds
Development of the 3D Lagrangian numerical scheme based
on the thin layer approximation (1990-1992).
Numerical simulations of 2D and 3D supernova remnants and
starburs driven superbubbles: their dynamics, morphology, hot gas chemical
composition and X-ray emission.
Cosmic Rays Physics
For the first time the exact analytical solution of the
non-stationary kinetic transport equation is obtained (Linear Boltzman
equation, a case 1and 3 spacelike dimensions).
On the basis of these solutions the model of distribution
of solar cosmic rays in an interplanetary medium is constructed which has
enabled to explain the shapes of spatially - temporal allocation of
solar cosmic rays, which obtained from experiment.
The mechanism of acceleration of ultrarays is designed
and offered which is represented a combination of mechanisms by (with)
the Fermi 1 and 2 kinds.
Detected two modes of driving of particles in a dipole
magnetic field.
The equations of a Frene-Serret for particles in a dipole
magnetic field are obtained.
THESES MADE IN THE DEPARTMENT:
Theses for PhD - 16.
Theses for a university degree - 25.
SCIENTIFIC CONNECTIONS:
Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Institute of Space Research, National Academy of Sciences and National Space Agency of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Institute of Radioastronomy NASU (Kharkov, Ukraine)
Kharkov University (Kharkov, Ukraine)
Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radiowave Propagation RAS (Troitzk, Russia)
Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences (Kosice, Slovakia)
Centre for Plasma Astrophysics (K.U.Leuven, Belgium)
World Institute for Space Environment Research (Adelaide University, Australia)
National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (Puebla, Mexico)
AWARDS
Barabashov's prize (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) -
Dr.Sci. S. Silich (1999).
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