Nikolai Pogorelov, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor, Space Science

Contact

320 Sparkman Drive
Cramer Research Hall
Room 2006
Huntsville, AL 35899
Campus Map

256.961.7617
nikolai.pogorelov@uah.edu

Biography

My research interests are computational fluid dynamics and MHD with the application to space physics and astrophysics. In particular, I perform numerical simulations of heliospheric problems, such as, solar wind (SW) interaction with the local interstellar medium and SW propagation from the solar surface toward Earth: Global modeling of the heliospheric interface with time-dependent boundary conditions; Coupling of the interstellar and heliospheric magnetic fields at the surface of the heliopause; Adaptive physics approach to coupling of kinetic and fluid dynamics processes in the heliosphere; Magnetic reconnection in turbulent plasmas; Modeling solar wind flow using observational boundary conditions; Astrophysical accretion and astrotails; Mathematical aspects of numerical solutions of hyperbolic systems.

I co-authored 3 monographs and was the lead editor of 8 proceedings books on numerical modeling of space plasma flows. I lead the development of a unique software package (Multi-Scale Fluid-Kinetic Simulation Suite – MS-FLUKSS), which is capable of solving various multi-scale problems. With the current NSF-NASA funding, the part of this code related to space weather prediction will be released to the public.

Curriculum Vitae


Education

  • Dr. Sci. Habilitation, Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation, 2001
  • Ph.D., Institute for Problems in Mechanics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 1984
  • M.S., Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 1975

Research Funding

  • Helium and the Heliopause (NASA, 80NSSC18K1212) - $644,036
  • Pickup Ions in the Outer Heliosphere and Beyond (NASA, 80NSSC18K1649) - $746,286
  • Turbulence as Indicator of Physical Processes at the Heliospheric Interface (NASA, 80NSSC19K0260) - $524,773
  • Coronal Mass Ejections and Space Weather: Synergy of Observations and Modeling (UAH IIDR) - $49,563
  • NSF-BSF: Collaborative Research: Rankine-Hugoniot Conditions Relating the Gyrotropic Regions of Collisionless Shocks in Non-thermal Plasma (NSF) - $200,000
  • Modeling Coronal Mass Ejections in the Solar Wind Driven by Photospheric Data (NSF/NESSF, 80NSSC18K1200) - $120,000
  • F/NSF/Collaborative Research: Travel Supplement for Frontera's "Multi-Scale, MHD-Kinetic Modeling of the Solar Wind and its Interaction with the Local Interstellar Medium" (NSF, 2031611) - $7,082 and 500,000 Node-hours

Expertise

  • Computational fluid dynamics and MHD with the application to space physics and astrophysics

Recent Publications

  • Pogorelov, N. V.; Heerikhuisen, J.; Roytershteyn, V.; Burlaga, L. F.; Gurnett, D. A.; Kurth, W. S., Three-dimensional Features of the Outer Heliosphere Due to Coupling between the Interstellar and Heliospheric Magnetic Field. V. The Bow Wave, Heliospheric Boundary Layer, Instabilities, and Magnetic Reconnection, Astrophys. J., 845. 9 (2017)

  • Pogorelov, N.V., Fichtner, H., Czechowski, A., Lazarian, L., Lembege, B., le Roux, J.A., Potgieter, M.S., Scherer, K., Stone, E.C., Strauss, R.D., Wiengarten, T., Wurz, P., Zank, G.P., Zhang, M. (2017), Heliosheath Processes and the Structure of the Heliopause: Modeling Energetic Particles, Cosmic Rays, and Magnetic Fields, Space Sci. Rev., 212, 193

  • Pogorelov, N.V., Borovikov, S.N., Heerikhuisen, J., Zhang, M, The Heliotail, ApJ Lett., 812. L6 (2015).

  • Pogorelov, N., Borovikov, S., Heerikhuisen, J., Kim, T., Kryukov, I., Zank, G. (2014), MS-FLUKSS and Its Application to Modeling Flows of Partially Ionized Plasma in the Heliosphere, in XSEDE'14 Proceedings of the 2014 Annual Conference on Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, article No. 22, ACM (New York, NY, USA)

  • Kulikovskii, A.G., Pogorelov, N.V., Semenov, A.Y., Mathematical Aspects of Numerical Solution of Hyperbolic Systems. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA 2000, 560 p.

  • Pogorelov, N.V., Heerikhuisen, J., Zank, G.P., Borovikov, S.N. (2009), Influence of the interstellar magnetic field and neutrals on the shape of the heliopause, Space Sci. Rev., 143, 31

  • Pogorelov, N.V., Heerikhuisen, J., Mitchell, J.A., Cairns, I.H., Zank, G.P., Heliospheric asymmetries and 2-3 kHz radio emission under strong interstellar magnetic field conditions, Astrophys. J. Lett., 695, L31 (2009)

  • Pogorelov, N.V., Heerikhuisen, J., Zank, G.P., Probing heliospheric asymmetries with an MHD-kinetic model, Astrophys. J. Lett., 675, L41 (2008).

  • Pogorelov, N.V., Zank, G.P., Ogino, T., Three-dimensional features of the outer heliosphere due to coupling between the interstellar and interplanetary magnetic fields. II: The presence of neutral hydrogen atoms, Astrophys. J., 644, 1299 – 1316 (2006).

  • Czechowski, A.; Bzowski, M.; Sokó?, J. M.; Kubiak, M. A.; Heerikhuisen, J.; Zirnstein, E. J.; Pogorelov, N. V.; Schwadron, N. A.; Hilchenbach, M.; Grygorczuk, J.; Zank, G. P., Heliospheric Structure as Revealed by the 3?88 keV H ENA Spectra, ApJ, 888, 1 (2020)