Particle Acceleration in the Plasma Universe

Our universe is filled with high-energy, accelerated particles (or particle radiation). The high-energy particles exist not only in extreme environments such as black holes and supernova remnants but also in our neighboring environments such as solar flares and Earth’s magnetosphere. However, it still remains unclear why and how those high-energy particles are produced. 

We seek students or postdocs who can join our team and study the origin and mechanism of particle acceleration in solar and space plasma environments. The successful candidate will engage in observational and/or theoretical (simulation) studies. Our team has recently worked on observational studies using, for example, MMS, RHESSI, THEMIS, and Parker Solar Probe as well as simulation studies using particle-in-cell (PIC) codes. Students or postdocs who are familiar with other types of observations and simulations are also welcomed.

If interested, please contact Dr. Mitsuo Oka for more details.