Hot Electrons in the Outer Heliosphere
The Opher research group works on modeling the heliosphere, a bubble of plasma around our solar system formed by the interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar medium. There are multiple current models of the heliosphere, but there is little to no agreement on its size, shape, and structure, and all models are inconsistent with observations in one way or another. This presents incredible opportunities to make advances in the accuracy of models and understanding the physics that shapes the heliosphere.
I study a component of the heliosphere that is often overlooked: electrons. Electrons have long been considered a very passive part of the heliosphere, only acting to maintain quasi-neutrality. However, it is possible that the electrons in the solar wind have much higher energy than previously predicted, leading to a whole host of exciting dynamics. These hot electrons can take energy away from other components of the solar wind plasma, shaping the pressure balance and flows within the heliosphere. Additionally very high energy electrons can collide with neutral atoms with such force that that knock off a secondary electron, ionizing the neutrals. This can drastically change the distribution of plasma, leading to all sorts of interesting effects.
I am currently working on global scale MHD simulations with energetic electrons to better understand how these hot electrons help to shape out heliospheric shield. I am part of a large collaboration called the SHIELD DRIVE Science Center, involving scientists from many different institutions and backgrounds.