Abstract Details


Name: Bhargav Vaidya
Affiliation: IIT Indore
Conference ID: TVS202510295
Title: Space Plasma processes in the Sun-Earth environment and their modelling.
Authors and Co-Authors:
Abstract Type: Invited by SOC
Abstract: Space weather arises from the nonlinear evolution of plasma processes in the heliosphere, where the solar wind (SW), Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and Stream Interaction Regions (SIRs) interact and propagate through structured ambient fields. These drivers control the transport of mass, momentum, and magnetic flux from the Sun to Earth. A quantitative understanding of these processes requires a combination of global-scale magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modeling and data-constrained approaches. In this talk, I will present Space Weather Adaptive SimulaTion (SWASTi) framework, a fully three-dimensional MHD model designed to capture solar wind dynamics, CME initiation and evolution, and CME–CME as well as CME–SIR interactions in the inner heliosphere. Comparative studies with in-situ spacecraft data demonstrate the framework’s efficacy in reproducing CME kinematics and deformations in shock structures. Additionally, the Magnetosphere Ionosphere coupling module within the framework captures the impact of these drivers on near Earth environment. In particular, the evolution of mesoscale magnetic flux transfer events and transient field aligned current structures at near-Earth space. The results reveal that the ambient SW background critically modulates CME morphology, leading to significant variations in shock standoff distances and magnetic field reconfiguration. I will also discuss how in-situ plasma and field observations from Aditya-L1’s ASPEX and MAG payloads in addition to multi-vantage observations from STEREO, PSP and Solar Orbiter can be assimilated into SWASTi, providing robust constraints on the initial modelling parameters. This talk will highlight the integration of SWASTi’s heliospheric MHD modules with MI coupling allows for systematic investigations of mesoscale current systems, transient shock signatures, and ionospheric responses, thereby bridging Sun-to-Earth plasma processes across multiple scales.