FACULTY OF Physics and Astronomy

JUN.-PROF. DR. MARIA ELENA INNOCENTI, COMPUTATIONAL PLASMA PHYSICS

The research is focused on the interaction of kinetic and global scales in space (heliospheric) plasmas. Fully kinet-ic, Particle-In-Cell codes are augmented with capabilities that specifically address the multiscale nature of plas-mas, e.g., adaptive-like models are used to simulate localized, small scall processes embedded in large domains, and fully kinetic Expanding Box Models are used to simulate expanding plasmas such as the solar wind. Current topics of research are magnetic reconnection in symmetric (e.g., magnetotail) and asymmetric (e.g., magnetopause) environments, and heat flux regulation by kinetic processes in the solar wind. Simulations results are compared and validated vs recent missions, such as the MMS and Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter missions for magneto-spheric and solar wind simulations respectively. 

Keywords: space plasmas, kinetic, adaptive, reconnection, heat flux 

Webpage: Theoretical Physics I