CentrifugAl iNstabilities and Turbulence in plAsmas: from LaboratOry plasmas to JUPiter's magnetospherE – CANTALOUPE

The rotation of magnetized plasmas, ubiquitous in the universe and technological applications, is known to lead to centrifugal instabilities and ultimately to an intense cross-field turbulent transport. In this proposal, we will address open issues raised by recent observations of centrifugally unstable regimes in the magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn and in laboratory experiments. In particular, we will fill key shortcomings in current models, and will specifically i) account for ion collisionality, ii) account for ion-magnetization and finite Larmor radius effects, iii) lift the low frequency approximation for laboratory experiments, iv) include electromagnetic fluctuations for planetary magnetospheres.
An integrated approach will be developed using two fully operational experimental facilities to probe controlled regimes in magnetized plasma columns, which will be complemented by a broad modeling expertise covering PIC simulations, fluid simulations and reduced models. A combination of in situ and remote space observations from Saturn and Jupiter magnetospheres will be used as inputs to models.
We will provide a detailed understanding of the physical mechanisms of non-linearly saturated centrifugally unstable regimes, over a wide range of physical parameters, with an emphasis on the influence of the ion-collisionality and ion-magnetisation. The models will be constrained by controlled laboratory measurements, before being extended to relevant parameters for the Jovian and Kronian magnetospheres. Ultimately, our models will enable us to predict the nature of the structures emerging in the non-linear phase of the instability and from there to parametrize the effective turbulent transport coefficients used for magnetospheric simulations, as well as to optimize a range of technological processes.