From Solar Storms to Aurorae: The Role of Magnetic Reconnection

Solar storms, driven by intense solar activity, are massive eruptions of charged particles and magnetic fields that travel across interplanetary space, often interacting with Earth’s magnetic field. These interactions trigger a cascade of plasma processes within the Earth’s magnetosphere and lead to the generation of the spectacular auroral displays visible in polar regions.
At the core of these processes lies magnetic reconnection, a fundamental plasma mechanism that explosively converts magnetic energy into particle energy. Magnetic reconnection is not only critical for shaping Earth’s space weather but is also a universal phenomenon observed in astrophysical systems and fusion devices.
In this talk, I will guide you through the journey of solar storms from the Sun to Earth, illustrating how energy is transported and manifested in phenomena like the aurora. I will then focus on my research, which explores magnetic reconnection and its interplay with plasma instabilities in the Earth's magnetosphere using an interdisciplinary approach that combines spacecraft observations (such as NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission) with numerical simulations.

Speaker

Giulia Cozzani

LE STUDIUM Research Fellow 

FROM: University of Helsinki - FI 
IN RESIDENCE AT: Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of Environment and Space (LPC2E) / CNRS, University of Orléans, CNES - FR