Space turbulence: The laws of the thermosphere and their unexpected connections

Two new studies presented Important explanations about the thermosphereThe hottest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, located between 80 and 500 kilometers above the planet’s surface. In the first of these, published in Geophysical Research Letters, a research team discovered that turbulence in the thermosphere obeys the same physical laws as wind in the lower atmosphere.

The second study, carried out in the ionosphere, the upper part of the thermosphere, drew attention to this region characterized by the presence of many ions and free electrons, the basic components of plasma. as a point of unexpected interaction between normal matter and hypothetical dark matter. This rare encounter will produce significant amounts of radio waves, the authors say.

Turbulence above and below the Earth’s atmosphere

In the turbulence study, two scientists from the University of Rostock in Germany and one from Kyushu University in Japan investigated thermospheric wind data from two satellites, the Challenging Mini-Satellite Payload (CHAMP) and the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean. Traveler (GOCE).

According to lead researcher Huixin Liu of Kyushu University’s Faculty of Science, “My research is on space physics, and I wanted to see if we could apply their meteorological methods to my research field.”

These data allowed the authors to calculate the third-order structural wind function, a statistical measure that describes the interaction between three different points in space depending on wind speed. Surprisingly, they found that the thermosphere follows a scaling law similar to that of the lower atmosphere.

Earth and space turbulence obey universal laws

Professor Liu said in a statement that “the significance of the discovery is that despite the two seemingly different atmospheric layers,”“How turbulence forms, moves and dissipates is surprisingly similar in these two areas.” Despite significant advances in understanding the thermosphere, understanding the complex interaction between turbulence and waves of different sizes has remained elusive.

These new insights into a unified approach to Earth’s atmosphere not only expanded the knowledge of atmospheric science but also added unthinkable connections between different atmospheric layers.

Just as we trust weather forecasts today, the new study’s findings show that reports about atmospheric conditions above clouds are similarly accurate. An accurate understanding of space weather is now vital in many aspects of modern life. From GPS navigation to satellite internet broadcasts.

Is there a hidden sea of ​​dark matter at the top of the thermosphere?

The ionosphere, the highest region of Earth’s thermosphere, is a thin, hot layer that extends up to a thousand kilometers from the surface. At different altitudes, from 50 kilometers onwards, many charged particles pass from free electrons and ions of neutral molecules to high concentrations of nitrogen and oxygen ions, most of which come from the solar wind.

A recent study hosted on the arXiv preprint platform, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, suggests that the wave frequency is: Plasma in the ionosphere may interact with dark matter wavesHypothetical matter that makes up about 85% of the total matter in the universe but does not emit light.

Claiming that dark matter carries a small mass and behaves like large waves spreading throughout the universe, the authors claim that by using a small electrical dipole radio antenna, they can detect radio waves, which are assumed to arise as a result of the interaction of dark matter, for a year. Dark matter with the plasma of the ionosphere.

The work remains promising, but it tests a tool that probes one of the greatest mysteries in the Universe.

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