Workshop on Cross-Scale Coupling in Plasmas
Università della Calabria, Rende (Cosenza) - Italy
March 9-11, 2009
Space, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas are dominated by processes, such as shocks, magnetic reconnection, and turbulence that are intrinsically variable and coupled on disparate scales. This workshop will discuss and refine the science background and mission design for Cross-Scale, a candidate ESA Cosmic Vision mission dedicated to the study of these fundamental phenomena.
The objectives of the workshop are to develop further the science objectives of the mission, their applications, and the mission programmatics (payload, orbit, operations) that will optimise the science return. At the heart of Cross-Scale are fundamental plasma processes (shocks, reconnection, turbulence) that govern a wide variety of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. Thus an important aspect of the mission will be to ensure that it can provide answers not just about the processes as they are found in near-Earth space, but in a way that can be applied to maximum benefit in other corners of the Plasma Universe.
The Workshop will involve scientists from these branches of physics together with the in situ space plasma community to forge a productive wider Cross-Scale community. Invited talks, contributed talks, poster sessions, and splinter workshop sessions will explore the key science questions and how the mission will best address them. This format is reflected in the draft Programme.
These discussions will feed into the studies currently being funded by ESA, NASA, CSA, and JAXA and into the payload concepts currently being advanced in laboratories around the globe. They will maintain the broad international support and interest that the mission has enjoyed and thus place it in a leading position for the next selection process with ESA toward the end of 2009.
For further information on the workshop, programme, venue, and registration, see:
http://www.fis.unical.it/astroplasmi/cross-scale
Luca Sorriso-Valvo, on behalf of the Local Organising Committee and Scientific Organising Committee