Global Hybrid Modeling in TRACERS Mission

Abstract Global hybrid simulations have been utilized to investigate, in a self-consistent manner, the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere, the structure of magnetopause reconnection, and the associated particle dynamics and electromagnetic wave generation. To better understand the direct connection between magnetopause reconnection, particle precipitation, and wave propagation into the cusp ionosphere, three-dimensional (3D) global hybrid models will serve as the primary theoretical and modeling tool for NASA’s TRACERS mission. These models include the ANGIE3D model, an advanced high-resolution global hybrid model for the magnetosphere, as well as an earlier model focused on the dayside only. In this paper, we present a review of global hybrid models intended for use in the NASA TRACERS mission. We begin by describing these global hybrid models, followed by a discussion on the validation and benchmarking of the simulation codes, which are essential components of the modeling process. We then review previous results obtained using these models, including simulations of the connection between magnetopause reconnection and the cusp ion energy spectrum, as well as the generation of kinetic-scale Alfvén waves (KAWs) during magnetopause reconnection and their propagation to the cusp ionosphere. Finally, we provide a brief discussion on how the hybrid modeling will be interfaced to the mission. Such global modeling offers crucial theoretical and computational support to TRACERS space observations and strongly contributes to the mission’s overarching goal: to determine whether cusp particle signatures arise from spatial or temporal variations of magnetopause reconnection.