Selected Topics in Applied Mathematics Semester 2 2021-22

Scientific Computing and Mathematical Modeling in Space Science

Motivation
Space Science is the science discipline dealing with the physical and chemical state of outer
space, with the aim of understanding its behavior and of driving engineering applications in
space. Since space is not readily accessible and our observational knowledge is only partial,
there is an important role for scientific computing in Space Science. Scientific computing is the
art of translating reality into mathematical models. This course provides an interdisciplinary view
on the different interrelated aspects of space science, mathematical modeling, numerical
methods, and computing. The aim is to introduce the next generation of researchers to space
science, with hands-on expertise in scientific computing, thereby highlighting the essential role
of various mathematical disciplines in addressing real-world applications.

Previous Knowledge
The course offers material that is complementary to courses in physics, plasma physics, space
weather, partial differential equations, and numerical mathematics. Master and PhD students
are expected to have a basic background in physics, calculus, numerical mathematics, and
programming. The course will be illustrated with a number of applications drawn from the field of
space science. It will be supported by MATLAB examples.

Content (13 lectures of 2 hours)

1. Fundamentals of Space Science

a. Basic plasma physics
b. Collisionless plasmas
c. Space plasma environments
d. Dynamical behavior of space plasmas
e. Interaction of plasmas with neutral matter
f. Exploring space plasmas
2. Introduction to Scientific Computing
a. Types of models
b. The modeling chain
c. Model hierarchies
d. Model parameters
e. Mastering complexity
3. Scientific description of the space environment
a. From a physical description to mathematical models
b. Fluid models and differential equations
c. Kinetic models: what, why, how?
d. Data-driven mathematical models and optimization
e. Parameter space exploration
f. Understanding and prediction through models
g. Sample applications
4. Engineering hardware in space
a. Characterizing the space environment
b. Space instrumentation development
c. Operation, Design and Verification through continuous and discrete simulation
d. Sample applications
Selected Topics in Applied Mathematics Semester 2 2021-22

Evaluation System
- Individual homework assignment 30%.
- Small group project with written report and oral presentation 70% at the end of the course.

Bibliography
- W. Baumjohann and R. Treumann. Basic Space Plasma Physics. Imperical College Press,
1997
- W. Gander, Walter, M. J. Gander, and F. Kwok. Scientific Computing - An Introduction using
Maple and MATLAB. Texts in Computational Science and Engineering 11, Springer, 2014
- C. Moler. Numerical Computing with MATLAB. SIAM, Philadelphia, 2004. See also
https://nl.mathworks.com/moler/index_ncm.html

Johan De Keyser
Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy
Brussels, Belgium