Workshop organized by: G. Livadiotis, H. A. Elliott, M. E. Cuesta, and K. Dialynas
The global space economy is estimated to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035. Understanding the physical properties and processes throughout the space environment, the heliosphere, and beyond, is critical for space weather forecasting and space exploration. Space plasmas are inherently complex, far from thermal equilibrium, and governed by nonlinear interactions across multiple scales. Therefore, understanding particle distributions and fields are key to measuring and understanding such physical properties and processes.
Unlike classical particle systems that stabilize into Maxwellian distributions, collisionless and correlated plasmas exhibit non-Maxwellian behavior, described by kappa distributions or combinations thereof. These distributions have become fundamental in space and astrophysical plasma research, with a solid theoretical foundation in non-extensive statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. Understanding their statistical origin has opened new pathways for modeling entropy, thermodynamics, and information measures in non-equilibrium systems.
This workshop focuses on emergent phenomena arising from plasma complexity—turbulence, shocks, magnetic reconnection, particle acceleration, and coupling processes—shaping environments from the solar wind and planetary magnetospheres to the heliosheath and interstellar medium.
We welcome abstracts reporting progress in the following areas:
• Theory of Particle Distributions and Statistical Framework
Non-extensive statistical mechanics; kappa distributions; Superstatistics; Connection with thermodynamics; Entropy and information measures; Temperature; Velocity-space anisotropy; Distributions with potential energy; Mechanisms generating distributions.
• Effects on Plasma Processes, Dynamics, and Complexity
Particle acceleration; Transport and diffusion; Plasma linear/nonlinear waves and instabilities; Shocks/discontinuities transition and conservation laws; Polytropic relations; Plasma interactions; Particle correlations; Coupling phenomena.
• Space Science Applications: Heliospheric and Magnetospheric Plasmas
Solar wind evolution and heating; Pickup ions; Inner and outer heliosheath structure; Termination shock physics; Planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres; Cometary plasma environments; Interstellar plasma interactions.
• Data Analyses, Simulations, and Applications in Space and Astrophysical Plasmas
Solar/Stellar atmospheres; Flares/CMEs; Solar wind; Ionosphere; Terrestrial, planetary, and cometary magnetospheres; Heliosheath/interstellar/galactic/intergalactic plasmas.
• Turbulence
Alfvénic/Compressible/Whistler/ kinetic Alfvén; Direct/Inverse/Dual cascades; MHD/Kinetic scales; Driven/Decaying/Intermittent; Strong/weak; Isotropic/Anisotropic.
• Chaotic Phenomena, origin and diagnostics
Nonlinear Wave–Particle Interactions; Magnetic field, Current Sheet & Vortex; Low/High-Dimensional Plasma; Chaotic Transport. Diagnostic tools: Lyapunov exponents/ Poincaré maps/ Fractal dimension analysis/ Phase-space attractors/ Bifurcation diagrams/ Intermittency measures/ Time-series analysis/ Power spectra & Structure functions/ Diffusion coefficients and random walk statistics/ Persistence
We invite contributions that advance our understanding of complexity and emergent behavior in space and astrophysical plasmas. This workshop aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue, connecting theory, observations, and simulations to address fundamental questions about non-equilibrium processes in the heliosphere and beyond. By bringing together experts in plasma physics, astrophysics, and statistical mechanics, we seek to examine and discuss current science questions, explore new approaches to address them, and identify new challenges and opportunities for future research.
Join us in exploring the frontiers of plasma complexity and its role in shaping cosmic environments!