Project description
Understanding the structure of collisionless shocks
Shock waves are present in air and water on Earth and a wide range of plasmas in the universe. These are generally collisionless plasmas. The EU-funded SHARP project intends to contribute to understanding of the structure of collisionless shocks in diverse environments and the acceleration processes at all shock stages. The project will intensify exploitation of the heliospheric data and perform an inclusive comparative analysis of the Earth bow and planetary and interplanetary shocks. SHARP will combine the findings from in situ measurements of heliospheric and supernovae remnant shocks with remote observation of distant astrophysical shocks. The project will also develop a high-level database of shocks and innovative instruments for the shock analysis.
Objective
"SHARP aims to achieve a major leap in understanding of the structure of collisionless shocks in various environments and of the acceleration processes at all shock scales. This will be done by: (a) intensifying exploitation of the heliospheric data and performing a comprehensive comparative analysis of the Earth bow shock, planerary shocks, and interplanetary shocks, (b) establishing a collaboration of the world renown groups working together on all aspects of the shock physics, (c) utilizing and combining the knowledge obtained in in situ measurements on heliospheric shocks and in remote observations of distant astrophysical shocks, and (d) developing a high-level databases of shocks and advanced tools for the shock analysis and making them public. The research will encompass the three ""pillars"" of the shock physics: the shock structure, the shock energy deposition, and the radiation from the shock energized particles. The study will address the most fundamental unsolved issues of the shock physics: the structural changes of the shock with the increase of the Mach number, the intimate relation between the shock fields and the particle distributions, the injection problem, and the electron acceleration puzzle. The research will bridge over the in situ observed heliospheric shocks and supernovae remnant (SNR) shocks which are observed only indirectly, by emission from energized particles, by combining the knowledge of the heliospheric shock structure and constraints provided by the radiation measurements from SNR shocks. Starting with the observational data, the research will ultimately provide new diagnostic measures for the ongoing and future experiments, such that will allow to improve the efficiency of the measurements and data analysis, contribute to understanding of solar wind interaction with the Earth, and advance understanding of the most powerful accelerators in the Universe."
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
00560 Helsinki
Finland