Space Plasma Physics: A Review

• Published in: IEEE transactions on plasma science Vol. 51; no. 7; pp. 1595 - 1655
• Main Authors: Tsurutani, Bruce T., Zank, Gary P., Sterken, Veerle J., Shibata, Kazunari, Nagai, Tsugunobu, Mannucci, Anthony J., Malaspina, David M., Lakhina, Gurbax S., Kanekal, Shrikanth G., Hosokawa, Keisuke, Horne, Richard B., Hajra, Rajkumar, Glassmeier, Karl-Heinz, Gaunt, C. Trevor, Chen, Peng-Fei, Akasofu, Syun-Ichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-07-2023; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Atmosphere; Auroras; Comets; Coronal holes; Coronal mass ejection; Dust; Dusty plasmas; Earth; Energetic particles; Geomagnetic storms; Geomagnetism; In situ measurement; Instrumentation; Instruments; Interstellar matter; Ionosphere; Magnetic separation; Magnetometers; Magnetosphere; Particle interactions; Physics; Planetary magnetospheres; Plasma; Plasma physics; Plasma waves; Plasmas; Radiation; Radiation belts; Rockets; Satellites; Solar atmosphere; Solar corona; Solar flares; solar radiation; Solar system; Solar wind; space missions; Space plasmas; Space weather; Stellar winds; Sun; Wave-particle interactions; Waves
• ISSN: 0093-3813; 1939-9375
• DOI: 10.1109/TPS.2022.3208906

Owing to the ever-present solar wind, our vast solar system is full of plasmas. The turbulent solar wind, together with sporadic solar eruptions, introduces various space plasma processes and phenomena in the solar atmosphere all the way to Earth's ionosphere and atmosphere and outward to interact with the interstellar media to form the heliopause and termination shock. Remarkable progress has been made in space plasma physics in the last 65 years, mainly due to sophisticated in situ measurements of plasmas, plasma waves, neutral particles, energetic particles, and dust via space-borne satellite instrumentation. Additionally, high-technology ground-based instrumentation has led to new and greater knowledge of solar and auroral features. As a result, a new branch of space physics, i.e., space weather, has emerged since many of the space physics processes have a direct or indirect influence on humankind. After briefly reviewing the major space physics discoveries before rockets and satellites (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec1">Section I ), we aim to review all our updated understanding on coronal holes, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections, which are central to space weather events at Earth (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec2">Section II ), solar wind (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec3">Section III ), storms and substorms (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec4">Section IV ), magnetotail and substorms, emphasizing the role of the magnetotail in substorm dynamics (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec5">Section V ), radiation belts/energetic magnetospheric particles (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec6">Section VI ), structures and space weather dynamics in the ionosphere (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec7">Section VII ), plasma waves, instabilities, and wave-particle interactions (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec8">Section VIII ), long-period geomagnetic pulsations (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec9">Section IX ), auroras (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec10">Section X ), geomagnetically induced currents (GICs, <xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec11">Section XI ), planetary magnetospheres and solar/stellar wind interactions with comets, moons and asteroids (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec12">Section XII ), interplanetary discontinuities, shocks and waves (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec13">Section XIII ), interplanetary dust (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec14">Section XIV ), space dusty plasmas (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec15">Section XV ), and solar energetic particles and shocks, including the heliospheric termination shock (<xref ref-type="sec" rid="sec16">Section XVI ). This article is aimed to provide a panoramic view of space physics and space weather.