The Solar Particle Acceleration Radiation and Kinetics (SPARK) mission concept

Reid, H. A.S. et al. (2023) The Solar Particle Acceleration Radiation and Kinetics (SPARK) mission concept. Aerospace, 10(12), 1034. (doi: 10.3390/aerospace10121034)

Abstract

Particle acceleration is a fundamental process arising in many astrophysical objects, including active galactic nuclei, black holes, neutron stars, gamma-ray bursts, accretion disks, solar and stellar coronae, and planetary magnetospheres. Its ubiquity means energetic particles permeate the Universe and influence the conditions for the emergence and continuation of life. In our solar system, the Sun is the most energetic particle accelerator, and its proximity makes it a unique laboratory in which to explore astrophysical particle acceleration. However, despite its importance, the physics underlying solar particle acceleration remain poorly understood. The SPARK mission will reveal new discoveries about particle acceleration through a uniquely powerful and complete combination of γ-ray, X-ray, and EUV imaging and spectroscopy at high spectral, spatial, and temporal resolutions. SPARK’s instruments will provide a step change in observational capability, enabling fundamental breakthroughs in our understanding of solar particle acceleration and the phenomena associated with it, such as the evolution of solar eruptive events. By providing essential diagnostics of the processes that drive the onset and evolution of solar flares and coronal mass ejections, SPARK will elucidate the underlying physics of space weather events that can damage satellites and power grids, disrupt telecommunications and GPS navigation, and endanger astronauts in space. The prediction of such events and the mitigation of their potential impacts are crucial in protecting our terrestrial and space-based infrastructure.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Funding: H.A.S.R. and S.A.M. were funded by the Science, Technology, and Facilities Council (STFC) under consolidated grant ST/W001004/1. D.M.L. is grateful to the STFC award of an Ernest Rutherford Fellowship (ST/R003246/1). Jaroslav Dudík was funded by the Czech National Science Foundation (Grant No. GACR 22-07155S). Jaroslav Dudík and J.K. were supported by project RWO:67985815. D.O.S. acknowledges financial support from through grants AEI/MCIN/10.13039/501100011033/ (RTI2018-096886-C5, PID2021-125325OB-C5, PCI2022-135009-2), and ERDF “A way of making Europe” and “Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa” awards to IAA-CSIC (CEX2021-001131-S). S.M. and T.M. were supported by the National Science Centre, Poland (Grant No. 2020/39/B/ST9/01591). G.S.K. acknowledges financial support from NASA’s Early Career Investigator Program (Grant No. NASA 80NSSC21K0460). G.D.Z. acknowledges support from STFC (UK) via the consolidated grants to the atomic astrophysics group at DAMTP, University of Cambridge (ST/P000665/1. and ST/T000481/1).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Kontar, Professor Eduard and Fletcher, Professor Lyndsay and Hannah, Dr Iain
• Authors: Reid, H. A.S., Musset, S., Ryan, D. F., Andretta, V., Auchère, F., Baker, D., Benvenuto, F., Browning, P., Buchlin, É., Calcines Rosario, A., Christe, S. D., Corso, A. J., Dahlin, J., Dalla, S., Del Zanna, G., Denker, C., Dudík, J., Erdélyi, R., Ermolli, I., Fletcher, L., Fludra, A., Green, L. M., Gordovskyy, M., Guglielmino, S. L., Hannah, I., Harrison, R., Hayes, L. A., Inglis, A. R., Jeffrey, N. L. S., Kašparová, J., Kerr, G. S., Kintziger, C., Kontar, E. P., Krucker, S., Laitinen, T., Laurent, P., Limousin, O., Long, D. M., Maloney, S. A., Massa, P., Massone, A. M., Matthews, S., Mrozek, T., Nakariakov, V. M., Parenti, S., Piana, M., Polito, V., Pesce-Rollins, M., Romano, P., Rouillard, A. P., Sasso, C., Shih, A. Y., Stęślicki, M., Orozco Suárez, D., Teriaca, L., Verma, M., Veronig, A. M., Vilmer, N., Vocks, C., and Warmuth, A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Journal Name: Aerospace
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2226-4310
• ISSN (Online): 2226-4310
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 by the Authors
• First Published: First published in Aerospace 10:1034
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence