Parallel electrostatic waves modulated by whistler waves during magnetic reconnection

Principal Investigator: Dr. Chen Zuzheng

Period：2023.6-2025.6

Project Description:

Magnetic reconnection is one of the fundamental processes in space plasma physics. It can rapidly convert magnetic energy into plasma’s energy and is believed to be the cause of explosive energy release events, such as substorms in the magnetosphere. Various plasma waves are generated during magnetic reconnection, which can lead to particle diffusion, anomalous resistivity, energy conversion, particle heating, and acceleration. In turn, these processes can also affect the magnetic reconnection. However, due to the lack of high-precision and high-resolution observational data, the interactions between these waves have not been fully understood. In this project, we plan to utilize the high-resolution measurements of the Earth's magnetosphere from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. Through the analysis of typical cases and statistical studies, combined with newly developed wave and instability analysis methods, we aim to systematically investigate the process of parallel electrostatic waves modulated by whistler waves in magnetic reconnection. The main objectives include: (1) quantitatively analyzing the excitation of waves during the modulation process, (2) exploring the control conditions for the excitation of different types of parallel electrostatic waves by whistler waves, and (3) statistically analyzing the spatial distribution characteristics of this modulation phenomenon in the magnetic reconnection region. This project can promote the understanding of wave-wave interactions, wave-particle interactions, and cross-scale energy transfer processes in magnetic reconnection.