★ August 6, 2024 (Tuesday) 15:00 (UTC+8)
Speaker: Prof. Stefano Livi (Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), USA )
Title: The Heavy Ion Sensor on Solar Orbiter : Linking the Solar Wind and the Sun
VIDEO
Abstract
The HIS sensor, part of the SWA suite onboard Solar Orbiter, has been designed and optimized to study heavy ions in the solar wind, suprathermal particles, and pickup ions in the range 0.5 to 75keV/e. This instrument allows for unprecedented data collection of particle characteristics near the Sun at various heliolatitudes during both the quiet and active phases of the solar cycle. The close proximity and the quasi-corotation will allow for determination of the source regions on the Sun for the observed events. Data collected to date highlights the richness of new information that have been gathered. In particular we will show how heavy ion data enable us to link events on the surface of the Sun with structures in the interplanetary medium; determine the extent of gravitational settling in the expansion region of the solar wind; characterize the heating and dissipation mechanisms at shocks at various radial distances and latitudes; and identify the mechanisms that heat thermal solar wind ions.
Prof. Stefano Livi
Bio
Dr. Livi principal areas of specialization are particle detector design and testing, UV imaging detector design and testing, calibration of science instruments, integration of instruments and spacecraft, radiation issues related to parts usage, and processes related to fabrication of scientific flight instrumentation. Dr. Livi has 30 years’ experience working on all aspects of the development of instruments for scientific missions, from the conceptual design phase, to the final scientific analysis of the collected data. His range of expertise encompasses plasma analyzers, UV coronographs, mass spectrometers, and energetic particle sensors. He acted as leading Co-Investigator on a number of American, European, Russian, and Japanese missions, including Phobos, Polar, Cassini, SOHO, Rosetta, and Geotail, and received numerous NASA Group Achievement Awards. Presently he is Principal Investigator of the sensor Strofio, currently flying on the BepiColombo mission to Mercury, and of the sensor HIS to be flown on the Solar Orbiter mission; as Lead Investigator, he manages all activities related to the sensor CoDICE of the IMAP mission. As principal scientist at the Max Planck Institut für Aeronomie (1992-2000), Dr. Livi directed and managed the day-to-day activities of a group composed of approximately 25 scientists and engineers. From March 2004 to October 2006, Dr. Livi served as the Instrument Science Coordinator and Chair of the Instrument Development Program at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. In 2016 he served as chair of the SwRI Advisory Committee for Research. Since 2007 Dr. Livi is teaching as Adjoint Professor at the University of Texas in San Antonio and since 2017 as Research Professor at the University of Michigan.
Publications
Dr. Livi is author/co-author of over 270 scientific publications in refereed journals.
Professional Chronology
Max Planck Institut für Aeronomie: principal scientist, 1981-2000; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory: principal professional, 2000-06; Southwest Research Institute: assistant director, 2006-10; institute scientist, 2010-present; UTSA: 2007-present, Adjoint Professor; University of Michigan: 2017-present, Research Professor
Memberships
American Geophysical Union, European Geosciences Union, Explorers Club
