physics.space-ph papers

Space physics explores the dynamic environment surrounding our planet and the wider solar system, focusing on how charged particles, magnetic fields, and solar winds interact with celestial bodies. This field helps us understand phenomena like auroras, space weather that can disrupt satellites, and the fundamental behavior of plasma in the vacuum of space. It bridges the gap between astronomy and particle physics, revealing the invisible forces that shape our cosmic neighborhood.

At Gist.Science, we process every new preprint in this category as it appears on arXiv, ensuring you get immediate access to the latest research. For each paper, we provide both a detailed technical summary for experts and a plain-language explanation that makes complex concepts understandable for everyone. Below are the latest space physics papers from arXiv, curated and simplified for your reading.

Active regions and the large-scale magnetic field of solar cycle 24

This study utilizes surface flux transport modeling and randomized simulations to demonstrate that the non-random longitudinal distribution of active regions, particularly recurrent flux emergence in the southern hemisphere, significantly reinforced the large-scale equatorial magnetic field during the declining phase of solar cycle 24, while also showing that incorporating both axial and equatorial dipole components provides better constraints for model optimization than using the axial dipole alone.

Ismo Tähtinen, Timo Asikainen, Kalevi Mursula2026-03-09🔭 astro-ph

Global Abiotic Sulfur Cycling on Earth-like Terrestrial Planets

This paper presents an open-source dynamical box model to simulate global abiotic sulfur cycling on Earth-like planets, revealing that the absence of life would result in marine sediment sulfate concentrations two orders of magnitude higher and sulfide concentrations four orders of magnitude lower than on present-day Earth.

Rafael Rianço-Silva, Javed Akhter Mondal, Matthew A. Pasek, Henry Jurney, Marcos Jusino-Maldonado, Henderson James Cleaves2026-03-09🔭 astro-ph

Velocity dispersion of Solar Energetic Particles in turbulent heliosphere

This study demonstrates that velocity dispersion analysis (VDA) often yields inaccurate solar injection times and path lengths for Solar Energetic Particles because the method is significantly biased by interplanetary magnetic turbulence and the energy dependence of the pre-event proton background.

T. Laitinen (Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, University of Lancashire, UK), S. Dalla (Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, University of Lancashire, UK)2026-03-09🔭 astro-ph

Detection of C3 in Titan with VLT-ESPRESSO

This study presents the first definitive eight-sigma detection of the C3 molecule in Titan's atmosphere using ultra-high-resolution VLT-ESPRESSO observations, confirming a column density consistent with photochemical models and demonstrating the efficacy of exoplanet research techniques for Solar System targets.

Rafael Rianço-Silva, Pedro Machado, Pascal Rannou, Jorge Martins, Anthony E. Lynas-Gray, Giovanna Tinetti2026-03-06🔭 astro-ph

The Role of Gyrating Ions in Reformation of a Quasi-parallel Supercritical Shock

This study utilizes multi-point in-situ observations of Earth's bow shock to demonstrate that backstreaming ions create cavitons that facilitate the formation of a new quasi-parallel supercritical shock layer through the nonlinear growth driven by gyrating suprathermal ions and subsequent plasma compression.

Hadi Madanian, Terry Z. Liu2026-03-05🔬 physics

High Resolution Microscopy and Raman Spectroscopic Studies on the Freshest Mukundpura Meteorite, Rajasthan, India: Presence of Nanodiamond

This study characterizes the 2017 Mukundpura CM2 carbonaceous chondrite from Rajasthan, India, using high-resolution microscopy and Raman spectroscopy to confirm the presence of 3–5 nm nanocrystalline diamonds alongside graphitic carbon and abundant iridium, offering insights into stellar evolution and the geological impact anomalies associated with mass extinctions.

D. Chandrasekharam, U. Govind, R. P. Tripathi, T. H. Amir, K. M. Sairam, D. B. E. Rafal, A. Dixit2026-03-05🔬 cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of a Low-Thrust Asteroid Orbit Insertion Using Electric Propulsion

This paper presents a multidisciplinary design optimization framework using OpenMDAO and Dymos that simultaneously optimizes low-thrust trajectories and spacecraft power systems for asteroid orbit insertion, explicitly coupling variable-specific impulse Hall thruster performance with time-varying solar power availability to overcome the limitations of traditional simplifying assumptions.

Yacob Medhin, Tushar Sial, Simone Servadio2026-03-05🔭 astro-ph

Cavitons Associated with Ion-Acoustic-Like Waves in Foreshock Transients

Using high-resolution MMS data, this study provides observational evidence that ion-acoustic-like electrostatic wave activity is causally linked to the formation of cavitons (localized density depletions) within foreshock transients, a relationship best quantified by normalizing potential fluctuations by electron temperature.

Runyi Liu, Terry Liu, Xin An, Vassilis Angelopoulos, Xiaofei Shi2026-03-05🔬 physics

Understanding cold electron impact on parallel-propagating whistler chorus waves via moment-based quasilinear theory

This paper develops a moment-based quasilinear theory to demonstrate that cold electron populations drive secondary instabilities which can nearly completely damp parallel-propagating whistler chorus waves, thereby limiting their amplitude and explaining the rare simultaneous observation of high-amplitude field-aligned and oblique whistler waves in Earth's magnetosphere.

Opal Issan, Vadim Roytershteyn, Gian Luca Delzanno, Salomon Janhunen2026-03-04🔬 physics

On the magnetic field evolution of interplanetary coronal mass ejections from 0.07 to 5.4 au

This study utilizes an expanded catalog of 1976 interplanetary coronal mass ejection events observed from 0.07 to 5.4 au to demonstrate that their magnetic field evolution follows a single power law with an exponent of approximately -1.57, while revealing that a two-exponent multipole model is required to reconcile these interplanetary measurements with solar source field strengths.

Christian Möstl, Emma E. Davies, Eva Weiler, Ute V. Amerstorfer, Andreas J. Weiss, Hannah T. Rüdisser, Martin A. Reiss, Satabdwa Majumdar, Timothy S. Horbury, Stuart D. Bale, Daniel Heyner2026-03-04🔭 astro-ph

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