Helen Norman
3rd year PhD student at the Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics, University of Warwick.
Project: "Forecasting radiation for the Lunar Gateway space station"
Supervisor: Dr Ravindra Desai
Galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles pose a significant radiation risk for both manned and unmanned space missions that travel beyond the Earth's magnetosphere, and therefore it is vital to accurately characterise the transport of these energetic particles in the inner heliosphere. This project focuses on developing and using numerical models that describe energetic particle transport, and focus on the interaction between coronal mass ejections and energetic particles, extreme events, and increased capability of modelling the whole inner heliosphere and cis-lunar space.
Current work:
Forbush decreases are a short term decrease in galactic cosmic ray flux caused by transient structures in the solar wind, such as coronal mass ejections. These decreases vary in structure but often have two distinct decreases caused by the shock and sheath region, and the proceeding magnetic cloud.
I am working on combining magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the solar wind and coronal mass ejections, and full-orbit test particle simulations of galactic cosmic rays to reproduce 2-step Forbush decreases. This work will give insight into using charged particle measurements to determine CME structure, as Forbush decreases have not yet been modelled as a 2-step decrease with realistic fields.
As part of this work I am also comparing several different magnetised CMEs and their properties, to hopefully shed light on the advantages and disadvantages of their use in forecasting, particularly looking at extreme events, where the magnetic field inside a CME can make a large difference to its geoeffectiveness.
Particles traced over MHD simulation of a CME.
Presentations:
| Event | Date | Type | Notes |
| UKSWSE 2025 | 08-11/09/2025 | Presentation | Link |
| SHINE 2025 | 22-27/06/2025 | Poster | Link |
| Spring MIST 2025 | 07-09/04/2025 | Presentation | Link |
| Autumn MIST 2024 | 29/11/2024 | Poster | |
| ESWW 2024 | 04/08/11/2024 | Presentation | |
| ISSS-15 | 01-09/08/2024 | Poster | Awarded Bronze Poster Prize |
| PLASMAScience Summer School | 23-29/06/2024 | Poster |
Background:
MMath at University of Warwick, 2023 - project in Dynamical Systems.
