Solar Wind – Magnetosphere Coupling At The Giant Planets

About the Project

The dynamic solar wind is an important factor in understanding auroral processes on planets throughout the solar system. We have a good understanding of the link between the solar wind and auroral processes at Earth. But we have a much poorer understanding of both solar wind dynamics and auroral processes farther out into the solar system, at the gas giants of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

There are very few solar wind monitoring spacecraft in the outer heliosphere, so typically the solar wind environment needs to be simulated with numerical models. However, we have a knowledge and capability gap in solar wind modelling that limits the representivity of the simulations in the outer heliosphere.

Neutral interstellar gas flows into our solar system and a fraction is photoionised into “Pick-up Ions”. In the outer heliosphere, the solar wind speed begins to slow with radial distance from the Sun, as these Pick-up Ions exert a drag on the flow. This process is poorly characterised in solar wind numerical models and it limits our ability to simulate solar wind dynamics in the outer heliosphere and our ability to generate the necessary contextual information to interpret auroral observations on the gas giants.

This PhD project will:

• Develop a new parameterisation of solar wind-Pick-up Ion interactions for University of Reading’s SURF solar wind model.
• Validate this parameterisation using observations from missions such as NASA’s Voyager and New Horizons.
• Use the improved simulations to look at auroral processes at the gas giants using data from e.g. the Keck telescope and James Webb Space Telescope.

The successful candidate will develop expertise and highly transferable skills in numerical modelling, statistical analysis, and the use of remote sensing and space-based data sets.

University of Reading:

The University of Reading, located west of London, England, is ranked at 194 globally, according to the QS World University Rankings 2026. 98% of research at the University is of international standing (REF 2021, combining the University’s world leading, internationally excellent and internationally recognised submissions). The University’s main Whiteknights Campus is set in 120 hectares of beautiful, award-winning parkland, less than a 30-minute train ride to London Paddington and is approximately 30 miles from London Heathrow airport.

During your PhD at the University of Reading, you will expand your research knowledge and skills, receiving specialist supervision. We also provide dedicated training in important transferable skills that can help support your career aspirations. If you need to develop your academic English skills before you start your studies, then the University has an excellent International Study and Language Institute which can help with this.

Eligibility:

This project would be suitable for students with at least a 2:1 degree in physics, mathematics or a closely related environmental or physical science. Experience with the python programming language would be advantageous, but not essential.

The University of Reading is committed to a policy of equal opportunities and non-discriminatory treatment for all members of its community.

How to apply:

Submit an application for a PhD in Space Weather and Solar-Terrestrial Physics via our online application system. During the application process please quote the reference ‘DRC26-032’ in the ‘Scholarships applied for’ box and when prompted to add a project proposal, simply enter the title of this studentship.

Further information:

https://www.reading.ac.uk/meteorology/phd/phd-opportunities

https://research.reading.ac.uk/met-spate/

Enquiries:

Dr. Luke Barnard, email: l.a.barnard@reading.ac.uk

Funding Notes

• Fully funded for 3.5 years from September 2026
• Funding covers full tuition fees plus UKRI stipend of £21,805 for the 2026/2027 academic year