Understanding the Past and Present Heliosphere with SHIELD

Seminário: Understanding the Past and Present Heliosphere with SHIELD
No Auditório 1 (piso térreo) do Instituto de Física e Química (IFQ, Bloco C2)

Marc Kornbleuth concluiu sua graduação na Boston Universtity em 2013, estudando o aquecimento e a aceleração dos ventos solares para o Sol e estrelas anãs M com o Prof. Merav Opher. Após a graduação, trabalhou com o Dr. Brad Wargelin no Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, onde conduziu pesquisas sobre troca de cargas na atmosfera superior da Terra. Em 2014, retornou à BU como aluno de pós-graduação, onde continuou suas pesquisas com o Prof. Opher e concluiu seu doutorado em 2020. Atualmente, trabalha no NASA DRIVE center, SHIELD (https://shielddrivecenter.com/about-shield/), com o Prof. Opher. Seus interesses de pesquisa são estrutura da heliosfera, modelagem magneto-hidrodinâmica, troca de cargas do vento solar.

Resumo: The heliosphere is created from the interaction of the solar wind and the local interstellar medium. The resulting structure acts as a shield to galactic cosmic rays, and therefore protects astronauts in space and life on Earth. Yet a great deal is still unknown regarding even the most basic elements, such as the shape of the heliosphere. The goal of SHIELD, which is a NASA DRIVE Science Center, is to investigate the past and present heliosphere through a combination of in-situ and remote data, as well as numerical modeling. Here, I present some recent and ongoing investigations from SHIELD. I discuss investigations of the present day heliosphere include identifying observational signatures to identify the shape of the heliosphere, as well as observational constraints of the properties of the local interstellar magnetic field. I also present investigations of the past heliosphere focus on a possible encounter between the heliosphere and a cold cloud in the interstellar medium. This cold cloud may have compressed the heliosphere to within the orbit of the Earth, exposing the Earth and planets to the interstellar medium and affecting the Earth’s paleoclimate.