Interrelated laboratory and space plasma experiments

Abstract

[1] Many advances in understanding space plasma phenomena have been linked to insight derived from theoretical modeling and/or laboratory experiments. Advances for which laboratory experiments played an important role are reviewed here. How the interpretation of the space plasma data was influenced by one or more laboratory experiments is described. The space physics motivation of laboratory investigations and the scaling of laboratory plasma parameters to space plasma conditions are discussed. Examples demonstrating how laboratory experiments develop physical insight, validate or invalidate theoretical models, discover unexpected behavior, establish observational signatures, and pioneer diagnostic methods for the space community are presented. The various device configurations found in space-related laboratory investigations are outlined. A primary objective of this review is to articulate the overlapping scientific issues that are addressable in space and laboratory experiments. A secondary objective is to convey the wide range of laboratory and space plasma experiments involved in this interdisciplinary alliance. Over time the degree to which the interrelated experiments can be compared has increased, thanks to improved diagnostic techniques in space and closer attention to matching dimensionless space parameters in the laboratory.

Spectral properties of electrostatic drift wave turbulence in the laboratory and the ionosphere

“…Such an experiment (or numerical simulation) should keep ν i / ci and ν e /ω ce constant (in terms of collision frequencies between plasma particles and cyclotron frequencies) and vary the Hall current from E 0 /B < C s to E 0 /B > C s . Moreover, it seems that the fully saturated turbulent development of magnetic field-aligned velocity shear instabilities (D'Angelo and von Goeler, 1966;Koepke and Reynolds, 2007;Koepke, 2008) (possibly weakly turbulent) is not studied in any significant detail and is still not well understood. These instabilities are likely to saturate in a power spectrum that is non-uniformly distributed in a three-dimensional wave vector space.…”

Previously hidden low-energy ions: a better map of near-Earth space and the terrestrial mass balance

“…On average, O + dominates the global outflow of heavier ions. Estimates range from less than 10 25 to more than 10 26 ions s −1 , higher at higher geomagnetic activity and for more intense solar EUV radiation (Yau et al 1988, Cully et al 2003, Peterson et al 2006, 2008, Parks et al 2015. (30 000 ton yr −1 ).…”

“…The visible aurora was studied for hundreds of years without realizing that this phenomenon is caused by charged particles accelerated at several thousand kilometers altitude within the magnetosphere, which then hit the atmosphere (Gilmore 1997, Brekke and Broms 2013). Studies of plasma in the solar wind and the magnetosphere are today closely linked to investigations of laboratory, fusion and astrophysical plasmas (Kivelson and Russell 1995, Aschwanden 2004, Koepke 2008, Koskinen 2011.…”

Approaching the Theoretical Limit of Diamagnetic-Induced Momentum in a Rapidly Diverging Magnetic Nozzle

“…Although the multiplicity of time scales in space events such as aurorae, solar flares, and astrophysical jets may not be amenable to steady state solutions, a diverse number of opinions and models that attempt to unify the sparse data can be found [4]. Some theoretical aspects of momentum imparted by a magnetic nozzle and plasma detachment from a magnetic field have been discussed in the context of space physics [5] and of electric propulsion [6][7][8].…”