(Press-News.org) Contact information: Jamie Hanlon
jamie.hanlon@ualberta.ca
780-492-9214
University of Alberta
CERN, eat your heart out? U of A research team helps identify an interstellar particle accelerator
Newly released research in Nature Communications from the University of Alberta has identified the existence of a giant cosmic accelerator above the Earth.
By analyzing data from NASA's Van Allen probes, U of A physicist Ian Mann, together with his colleagues at NASA and other institutes, have been able to measure and identify the "smoking gun" of a planetary scale process that accelerates particles to speeds close to the speed of light within the Van Allen radiation belt.
This natural space "synchrotron accelerator" has scales of hundreds of thousands of kilometers, dwarfing even the largest man-made similar accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, which has a circumference of only 27 kilometres.
Mann says this particle acceleration—deriving energy from solar flares or eruptions and carried through space on a solar wind—exists in the region of space dominated by the Earth's magnetic field, where satellites fly, known as the magnetosphere. The discovery is a jumping-off point for understanding space storms and determining how to protect man-made systems—on Earth and in space—from potential damage from space storms and severe space weather.
"The puzzle ever since their discovery has been how do the particles get accelerated up to nearly the speed of light?" said Mann.
Surfing particles and dangerous waves
Mann says this highly relativistic particle acceleration, which can damage satellites and pose a risk to astronauts during space weather storms, is akin to the relationship between a surfer and a wave, in that the particles repeatedly catch a "ride" on a wave that sends them rocketing around the planet. As they circle the Earth, the particles may be picked up again by the same wave, which will boost its speed even further. The result is a perpetual cycle wherein the particles "get repeatedly accelerated by waves that are coherent on truly planetary scales spanning hundreds of thousands of kilometers," Mann said.
And like climatic weather storms, space storms can be anywhere from mild to powerful. Mann says these solar storms can have variety of effects on technological infrastructure on Earth, from mild disruption of satellite communications to widespread damage of telegraph systems as occurred during the Carrington solar storm of 1859, manifested on Earth as bright Aurorae seen across the globe.
"There's eyewitness accounts published in newspapers of telegraph wires setting on fire as a result of the electrical currents that were driven into ground infrastructure due to these space weather storms," said Mann, adding that the potential damage from a similar-sized space storm in today's highly technological world has been forecast to cost trillions of dollars in loss and repair.
U of A: grooming the space weatherman
Mann says understanding the physics of space weather is still in the discovery phase, but with results such as this, researchers are moving closer to producing more accurate space weather forecasts.
"We're still trying to piece together what a really big space storm would look like, and the impact that it might have on infrastructure such as operating satellites and ground power networks—and ultimately trying to improve some of our protection of those systems against severe space weather," said Mann. "With this discovery, we're starting to put the pieces together to understand how this radiation might be created and, therefore, understand how extreme the response to severe space storms might be."
### END
CERN, eat your heart out? U of A research team helps identify an interstellar particle accelerator
2013-12-05
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Heads or tails? Random fluctuations in brain cell activity may determine toss-up decisions
2013-12-05
Heads or tails? Random fluctuations in brain cell activity may determine toss-up decisions
Life presents us with choices all the time: salad or pizza for lunch? Tea or coffee afterward? How we make these everyday decisions has been a topic of great ...
An ecosystem-based approach to protect the deep sea from mining
2013-12-05
An ecosystem-based approach to protect the deep sea from mining
Five hundred miles southeast of Hawai'i, in international waters far out of sight of any land, there are vast mineral resources 5,000 meters below the sea.
Manganese nodules, rich in commercially ...
New insights into how human skin attracts mosquitoes could lead to better repellants and traps
2013-12-05
New insights into how human skin attracts mosquitoes could lead to better repellants and traps
Every time a mosquito is lured to the scent of your skin, you're at risk of contracting malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus, or another deadly disease. A study published by ...
Gut bacteria linked to autism-related behavior in mice
2013-12-05
Gut bacteria linked to autism-related behavior in mice
Mice whose mothers suffered from infection or inflammation during pregnancy are at greater risk for developing behaviors similar to those seen in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Now, researchers reporting in ...
Those fruit flies are pickier than you think
2013-12-05
Those fruit flies are pickier than you think
On your kitchen counter, it might seem as though fruit flies will show up for just about any type of fruit you leave around for them. But when given a choice about where to lay their eggs, those flies will go for citrus most ...
Scientists accelerate aging in stem cells to study age-related diseases like Parkinson's
2013-12-05
Scientists accelerate aging in stem cells to study age-related diseases like Parkinson's
Stem cells hold promise for understanding and treating neurodegenerative diseases, but so far they have failed to accurately model disorders that occur late in life. A study published by ...
Electrical brain stimulation may evoke a person's 'will to persevere'
2013-12-05
Electrical brain stimulation may evoke a person's 'will to persevere'
VIDEO:
What gives some people the ability to persevere through difficult situations that others may find ...
Tracking exercise as vital sign associated with weight loss and better glucose control for patients
2013-12-05
Tracking exercise as vital sign associated with weight loss and better glucose control for patients
Asking patients about their exercise habits was associated with weight loss in overweight patients and improved glucose control for patients with diabetes, according ...
How mosquitoes are drawn to human skin and breath
2013-12-05
How mosquitoes are drawn to human skin and breath
UC Riverside researchers identify affordable, safe and pleasant-smelling compounds that can help control spread of mosquito-borne diseases
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Female mosquitoes, which can transmit deadly ...
New finding shows that mother sharks 'home' to their birthplace to give birth, like salmon and sea turtles
2013-12-05
New finding shows that mother sharks 'home' to their birthplace to give birth, like salmon and sea turtles
Research suggests local shark conservation efforts by individual nations can have an impact
Research conducted in Bimini in The ...