Joint NL1/SP19 Session - AOGS 2004

NL1
Nonlinear Processes in Solar-Terrestrial Physics

Main Organiser
Abraham Chian, National Institute for Space Research, Brazil
achian@dge.inpe.br
achian@physics.adelaide.edu.au

Nicholas Watkins
British Antarctic Survey,UK
nww@bas.ac.uk

Co-Organiser(s)
Sandra Chapman
University of Warwick, UK
sandrac@astro.warwick.ac.uk

Michael Gedalin
Ben Gurion University, Israel
gedalin@bgumail.bgu.ac.il

Tohru Hada, Kyushu Uniuversity
hada@esst.kyushu-u.ac.jp

Vinod Krishan, Indian Institute of Astrophysics
vinod@iiap.ernet.in

Choy Heng Lai
NUS, Spore
phylaich@nus.edu.sg

Sean Oughton
University of Waikato, New Zealand
seano@waikato.ac.nz

Rudolf A. Treumann
Max Planck Institute, Garching, Germany
tre@mpe.mpg.de

Chuanyi Tu
Peking University, China
cytu@public3.bta.net.cn

Brief Description
The aim of this Symposium is to bring together space physicists, computational physicists and applied mathematicians interested in the theory, computer modeling and data analysis of nonlinear dynamical processes in solar-terrestrial Physics. It will cover both fundamental
and applied research in nonlinear waves (solitary waves, shocks and vortices), chaos, complexity, self-organization, pattern formation, and turbulence in space physics. Most processes in solar-terrestrial relations are inherently nonlinear. This can be seen in microphysics, where plasma instabilities readily evolve into their nonlinear regimes. At the other extreme the response of the magnetosphere to perturbations is nonlinear as well, be they from the "external" solar wind or the "internal" inner magnetosphere or ionosphere. Most of these responses cannot be described in linear terms since many different strongly interacting processes are involved. This session is intended to span the range of such nonlinear processes via both theory and data analysis. Significant recent progress has been achieved in both areas. Plasma turbulence theories have progressed to a fairly mature state using numerical simulation as well as the insights offered on the transition to turbulence by nonlinear dynamics. In the field of data analysis progress has been made ranging from fractal and multifractal analyses to more sophisticated analyses of turbulent spectra, determination of turbulent wave modes using modern methods, and wavelet analyses. Stimulated by new paradigms such as self-organised criticality (SOC), recent investigations have been applied to many space plasma phenomena. The session will provide the opportunity to report new results from such methods. Contributions from all these fields are invited.