Giulia Cozzani
From
In residence at
Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of Environment and Space (LPC2E) / CNRS, University of Orléans, CNES - FR
Host scientist
Matthieu Kretzschmar
Project
Unraveling energy conversion in space plasmas
Understanding how energy conversion and redistribution occur in collisionless plasmas is a compelling, complex open problem at the core of space plasma physics and astrophysics. Collisionless magnetic reconnection is arguably the major plasma process responsible for energy conversion, prevalent across a multitude of space and astrophysical contexts. Magnetic reconnection is a particularly crucial phenomenon in the Earth's magnetosphere, for its role in energy conversion but also for its impact on space weather and terrestrial dynamics.
The overarching goal of this project is to achieve a profound understanding of the energy conversion associated with magnetic reconnection, in particular at the kinetic electron scales. This project applies and integrates different theoretical frameworks, including cutting-edge methods based on the velocity distribution function of the plasma species, allowing for a comprehensive description of kinetic processes. The project integrates an interdisciplinary approach, combining in situ spacecraft observations with numerical simulations to investigate energy conversion in different regions of the Earth’s magnetosphere. Near-Earth plasmas offer an exceptional laboratory for studying energy conversion processes at kinetic scales, as they are sampled in detail by the NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft mission, with unprecedented high-resolution particle measurements. The project will be led by Dr Giulia Cozzani with the support of Dr Matthieu Kretzschmar at LPC2E, merging the Applicant’s expertise in magnetic reconnection, Earth's magnetosphere observations and numerical simulations with the Host Institution's mastery of spacecraft measurements and instrumentation and space plasma physics. This project anticipates contributing key insights into the fundamental processes governing energy conversion in collisionless plasmas, with broad implications for both space plasma physics and astrophysics.