Aerospace (Dec 2023)
The Solar Particle Acceleration Radiation and Kinetics (SPARK) Mission Concept
- Hamish A. S. Reid,
- Sophie Musset,
- Daniel F. Ryan,
- Vincenzo Andretta,
- Frédéric Auchère,
- Deborah Baker,
- Federico Benvenuto,
- Philippa Browning,
- Éric Buchlin,
- Ariadna Calcines Rosario,
- Steven D. Christe,
- Alain Jody Corso,
- Joel Dahlin,
- Silvia Dalla,
- Giulio Del Zanna,
- Carsten Denker,
- Jaroslav Dudík,
- Robertus Erdélyi,
- Ilaria Ermolli,
- Lyndsay Fletcher,
- Andrzej Fludra,
- Lucie M. Green,
- Mykola Gordovskyy,
- Salvo L. Guglielmino,
- Iain Hannah,
- Richard Harrison,
- Laura A. Hayes,
- Andrew R. Inglis,
- Natasha L. S. Jeffrey,
- Jana Kašparová,
- Graham S. Kerr,
- Christian Kintziger,
- Eduard P. Kontar,
- Säm Krucker,
- Timo Laitinen,
- Philippe Laurent,
- Olivier Limousin,
- David M. Long,
- Shane A. Maloney,
- Paolo Massa,
- Anna Maria Massone,
- Sarah Matthews,
- Tomasz Mrozek,
- Valery M. Nakariakov,
- Susanna Parenti,
- Michele Piana,
- Vanessa Polito,
- Melissa Pesce-Rollins,
- Paolo Romano,
- Alexis P. Rouillard,
- Clementina Sasso,
- Albert Y. Shih,
- Marek Stęślicki,
- David Orozco Suárez,
- Luca Teriaca,
- Meetu Verma,
- Astrid M. Veronig,
- Nicole Vilmer,
- Christian Vocks,
- Alexander Warmuth
Affiliations
- Hamish A. S. Reid
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury Hill Rd, Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
- Sophie Musset
- European Space Research and Technology Centre, 2201 Noordwijk, The Netherlands
- Daniel F. Ryan
- FHNW Institute for Data Science, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Bahnhofstrasse 6, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
- Vincenzo Andretta
- INAF/Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory, 80131 Naples, Italy
- Frédéric Auchère
- CNRS, Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
- Deborah Baker
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury Hill Rd, Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
- Federico Benvenuto
- MIDA, Dipartimento di Matematica, Università di Genova, 16146 Genova, Italy
- Philippa Browning
- Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
- Éric Buchlin
- CNRS, Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
- Ariadna Calcines Rosario
- Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
- Steven D. Christe
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Science Division, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Alain Jody Corso
- National Research Council of Italy, Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, Via Trasea 7, 35131 Padova, Italy
- Joel Dahlin
- Astronomy Department, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
- Silvia Dalla
- Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
- Giulio Del Zanna
- DAMTP, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
- Carsten Denker
- Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany
- Jaroslav Dudík
- Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Fričova 298, 251 65 Ondřejov, Czech Republic
- Robertus Erdélyi
- Solar Physics & Space Plasma Research Center (SP2RC), School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH, UK
- Ilaria Ermolli
- INAF—Catania Astrophysical Observatory, 95123 Catania, Italy
- Lyndsay Fletcher
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
- Andrzej Fludra
- RAL Space, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0QX, UK
- Lucie M. Green
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury Hill Rd, Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
- Mykola Gordovskyy
- Department of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK
- Salvo L. Guglielmino
- INAF—Catania Astrophysical Observatory, 95123 Catania, Italy
- Iain Hannah
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
- Richard Harrison
- RAL Space, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0QX, UK
- Laura A. Hayes
- European Space Research and Technology Centre, 2201 Noordwijk, The Netherlands
- Andrew R. Inglis
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Science Division, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Natasha L. S. Jeffrey
- Department of Mathematics, Physics & Electrical Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
- Jana Kašparová
- Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Fričova 298, 251 65 Ondřejov, Czech Republic
- Graham S. Kerr
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Science Division, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Christian Kintziger
- Centre Spatial de Liège, University of Liège (ULiège)—STAR Institute, 4000 Liège, Belgium
- Eduard P. Kontar
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
- Säm Krucker
- FHNW Institute for Data Science, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Bahnhofstrasse 6, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
- Timo Laitinen
- Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
- Philippe Laurent
- Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, AIM, 75205 Paris, France
- Olivier Limousin
- Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, AIM, 75205 Paris, France
- David M. Long
- Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK
- Shane A. Maloney
- Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, 31 Fitzwilliam Place, D02 XF86 Dublin, Ireland
- Paolo Massa
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101, USA
- Anna Maria Massone
- MIDA, Dipartimento di Matematica, Università di Genova, 16146 Genova, Italy
- Sarah Matthews
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury Hill Rd, Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
- Tomasz Mrozek
- Centrum Badań Kosmicznych PAN, Bartycka 18A, 00-716 Warszawa, Poland
- Valery M. Nakariakov
- Physics Department, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
- Susanna Parenti
- CNRS, Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
- Michele Piana
- MIDA, Dipartimento di Matematica, Università di Genova, 16146 Genova, Italy
- Vanessa Polito
- Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Building 252, 3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
- Melissa Pesce-Rollins
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy
- Paolo Romano
- INAF—Catania Astrophysical Observatory, 95123 Catania, Italy
- Alexis P. Rouillard
- IRAP, Université Toulouse III—Paul Sabatier, CNRS, CNES, 31062 Toulouse, France
- Clementina Sasso
- INAF/Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory, 80131 Naples, Italy
- Albert Y. Shih
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Science Division, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- Marek Stęślicki
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101, USA
- David Orozco Suárez
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), 18008 Granada, Spain
- Luca Teriaca
- Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Meetu Verma
- DAMTP, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
- Astrid M. Veronig
- Institute of Physics & Kanzelhöhe Observatory for Solar and Environmental Research, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
- Nicole Vilmer
- LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, 5 place Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon, France
- Christian Vocks
- DAMTP, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
- Alexander Warmuth
- DAMTP, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10121034
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 10,
no. 12
p. 1034
Abstract
Particle acceleration is a fundamental process arising in many astrophysical objects, including active galactic nuclei, black holes, neutron stars, gamma-ray bursts, accretion disks, solar and stellar coronae, and planetary magnetospheres. Its ubiquity means energetic particles permeate the Universe and influence the conditions for the emergence and continuation of life. In our solar system, the Sun is the most energetic particle accelerator, and its proximity makes it a unique laboratory in which to explore astrophysical particle acceleration. However, despite its importance, the physics underlying solar particle acceleration remain poorly understood. The SPARK mission will reveal new discoveries about particle acceleration through a uniquely powerful and complete combination of γ-ray, X-ray, and EUV imaging and spectroscopy at high spectral, spatial, and temporal resolutions. SPARK’s instruments will provide a step change in observational capability, enabling fundamental breakthroughs in our understanding of solar particle acceleration and the phenomena associated with it, such as the evolution of solar eruptive events. By providing essential diagnostics of the processes that drive the onset and evolution of solar flares and coronal mass ejections, SPARK will elucidate the underlying physics of space weather events that can damage satellites and power grids, disrupt telecommunications and GPS navigation, and endanger astronauts in space. The prediction of such events and the mitigation of their potential impacts are crucial in protecting our terrestrial and space-based infrastructure.
Keywords
- particle acceleration
- magnetic reconnection
- instrumentation
- corona
- coronal mass ejections (CMEs)
- flares
