Space-qualifying silicon photonic modulators and circuits.

Reducing the form factor while retaining the radiation hardness and performance matrix is the goal of avionics. While a compromise between a transistor's size and its radiation hardness has reached consensus in microelectronics, the size-performance balance for their optical counterparts has not been quested but eventually will limit the spaceborne photonic instruments' capacity to weight ratio. Here, we performed space experiments of photonic integrated circuits (PICs), revealing the critical roles of energetic charged particles.

Observations of cross scale energy transfer in the inner heliosphere by Parker Solar Probe.

The solar wind, a continuous flow of plasma from the sun, not only shapes the near Earth space environment but also serves as a natural laboratory to study plasma turbulence in conditions that are not achievable in the lab. Starting with the Mariners, for more than five decades, multiple space missions have enabled in-depth studies of solar wind turbulence. Parker Solar Probe (PSP) was launched to explore the origins and evolution of the solar wind.

Statistics of Kinetic Dissipation in the Earth's Magnetosheath: MMS Observations.

A familiar problem in space and astrophysical plasmas is to understand how dissipation and heating occurs. These effects are often attributed to the cascade of broadband turbulence which transports energy from large scale reservoirs to small scale kinetic degrees of freedom. When collisions are infrequent, local thermodynamic equilibrium is not established.

Single-mode nonlinear Langevin emulation of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence.

Based on the Langevin equation of Brownian motion, we present a simple model that emulates a typical mode in incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, providing a demonstration of several key properties. The model equation is consistent with von Kármán decay law and Kolmogorov's symmetries. We primarily focus on the behavior of inertial range modes, although we also attempt to include some properties of the large-scale modes.

Energy cascade and its locality in compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence.

We investigate energy transfer across scales in three-dimensional compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence, a model often used to study space and astrophysical plasmas. Analysis shows that kinetic and magnetic energies cascade conservatively from large to small scales in cases with varying degrees of compression. With more compression, energy fluxes due to pressure dilation and subscale mass flux are greater, but conversion between kinetic and magnetic energy by magnetic line stretching is less efficient.