ProfessorTimothyHorbury

Waves and turbulence in plasmas

The solar wind plasma, which fills the solar system, is highly turbulent. We can study this turbulence in great detail with data from spacecraft. I am currently interested in the 3D structure of magnetic fields in turbulent plasmas, as well as their intermittency ("burstiness"), both of which are vital in controlling the propagation of energetic particles throughout the solar system.

SOLAR WIND STRUCTURES

The upcoming launch of the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter spacecraft will open a new chapter in our exploration of the near-Sun environment and the links between phenomena on the Sun and in interplanetary space. We have recently been working on analysis of the 40 year old Helios data set and have discovered short, high velocity plasma "spikes" that may be the interplanetary signatures of coronal jets. 

Novel data analysis techniques

We need to retrieve as much information as possible from the measurements we make. This is particularly important for spacecraft data, which are usually limited in their accuracy and coverage. I am involved with developing new techniques for analysing data from a single spacecraft using wavelets, and methods for combining data from several spacecraft to determine the 3D structure of plasmas.

Funding

UK Space Agency: Principal Investigator, Solar Orbiter Magnetometer

STFC: Principal Investigator, Space and Planetary Physics Consolidated grant