SWATNet Project 7 - Particle acceleration at coronal shocks

Space weather refers to the physical and phenomenological state of natural space environments. It is often defined in a more limited sense as those conditions in the near-Earth space that affect human-made technology and biological systems in orbit. In both scopes space radiation is a key component of space weather. Solar energetic particles (SEPs) are one of the most severe radiation threats to space missions outside the Earth’s protective magnetic field. SEPs are emitted from the Sun in events temporally associated to solar eruptions, i.e., solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The SWATNet 7 PhD project which is entitled as Particle Acceleration in Coronal Shocks is a part of the EU/MSCA Innovative Training Network SWATNet (Space Weather Awareness Training Network). The overall goal of SWATNet Project 7 is to make crucial steps towards accurate forecasting of energetic particle emission from CME-driven shocks. The project develops and exploits University of Turku’s (UTU) self-consistent solar energetic particle acceleration code SOLPACS (Solar Particle Acceleration in Coronal Shocks) and UTU’s DSP (Downstream Propagation) code developed for tracing particle transport in the turbulent downstream region of a coronal/interplanetary shock. These objectives are pursued in collaboration with other researchers at UTU and KU Leuven working in particular on the EU project EUHFORIA 2.0 towards similar goals.