Simulations of Plasma Transport in Jupiter’s Magnetosphere

Background
The magnetosphere of Jupiter is populated by plasma that is mainly sourced from the volcanic satellite Io, initially forming a torus of plasma around Jupiter. This plasma cannot build up indefinitely and the majority of this plasma is transported outwards, ultimately to be ejected into the solar wind. Close to Jupiter (and Io) outward transport is generally accepted to be via an instability analogous to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, but where gravity is replaced by the centrifugal force associated with rapid azimuthal plasma motion around the planet. This is known as the Centrifugal Interchange Instability and there is observational evidence for this process at both Jupiter and Saturn. However, this process is generally poorly understood, particularly in how mass and magnetic flux are “cycled”, how the transport process is regulated by the planet’s ionosphere, the importance of non-linear feedback effects, and the properties of unsteady/chaotic transport in the magnetosphere.

The project is centred on building a new numerical model for plasma transport in the magnetosphere of Jupiter. The model will be a time-dependent 2D hybrid (kinetic ions, fluid electrons) model for the magnetosphere and a time-dependent 2D model of the ionosphere. These models will be coupled via the magnetic field of Jupiter. Once built and validated, the model will be used to investigate: 1) the physics of the transport process (examining the plasma motions and scales in the magnetosphere); 2) the importance of the ionosphere (its response to outward transport, the effect of latitudinally-varying ionospheric conductance, effects of variable ionospheric conductance); and 3) the effects of imperfect magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling.

The Physics Department is holder of an Athena SWAN Silver award and JUNO Championship status and is strongly committed to fostering diversity within its community as a source of excellence, cultural enrichment, and social strength. We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our department. Lancaster University is one of the top 10 universities in the UK. The Physics Department was ranked 2nd in the UK for world-leading research in the most recent research excellence framework exercise (REF2014).

Interested candidates should contact the supervisor for further information. For general information about PhD studies in Physics at Lancaster please contact our postgraduate admissions staff at [Email Address Removed]. You can apply directly at http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/physics/study/phd/ stating the title of the project and the name of the supervisor in your application. Applicants are normally expected to have the equivalent of a first (1) or upper second class (2.1) degree in Physics, Astrophysics or a related discipline. Some experience of numerical simulations and/or computational physics is desirable, but is not required.

Please contact Dr Chris Arridge (C [Email Address Removed]) for further information. You can also apply directly at http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/physics/postgraduate/how-to-apply/ stating the title of the project and Dr Chris Arridge as the supervisor.

Closing Date
Applications will be accepted until the post is filled.