PTYS/LPL Faculty
Kristopher Klein
Assistant Professor
Parker Solar Probe, Solar and heliospheric physics, Theoretical astrophysics
Ph.D., 2013, University of Iowa
Years with LPL: 2017
Dr. Klein's research focuses on studying fundamental plasma phenomena that governs the dynamics of systems within our heliosphere as well as more distant astrophysical bodies. He has particular interest in identifying heating and energization mechanisms in turbulent plasmas, such as the Sun's extended atmosphere known as the solar wind, as well as evaluating the effects of the departure from local thermodynamic equilibrium on nearly collisionless plasmas which are ubiquitous in space environments.
These systems are studied with a combination of analytic theory and numerical simulation, including large-scale nonlinear turbulence codes such as AstroGK and HVM. These theoretical predictions are compared to in situ observations from spacecraft including NASA's Wind and MMS and the upcoming Parker Solar Probe mission. By comparing theory with local plasma measurements, we aim to answer a variety of questions about the behavior of plasma in our solar system.
Current Grants
•Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons (SWEAP): NASA's Parker Solar Probe mission; member of Science, Theory, and Modeling Team
•Assessing the Relative Importance of Stochastic and Resonant Ion Heating the Solar Wind, NASA Heliophysics Supporting Research Program
•Non-Maxwellian Distribution Functions in the Solar Wind: Dispersion Relations and Instabilities, NASA Heliophysics Supporting Research Program
Complete publications list available from: NASA ADS Author search: Kristopher G. Klein
Refereed publications (NASA ADS): Calendar Year 2016 through July 2018
Wilson, L. B., III, Stevens, M. L., Kasper, J. C., Klein, K. G., Maruca, B. A., Bale, S. D., Bowen, T. A., Pulupa, M. P., Salem, C. S. The Statistical Properties of Solar Wind Temperature Parameters Near 1 au 2018ApJS..236...41W
Vech, D., Mallet, A., Klein, K. G., Kasper, J. C. Magnetic Reconnection May Control the Ion-scale Spectral Break of Solar Wind Turbulence 2018ApJ...855L..27V
Howes, G. G., McCubbin, A. J., Klein, K. G. Spatially localized particle energization by Landau damping in current sheets produced by strong Alfvén wave collisions 2018JPlPh..84a9005H
Vech, D., Klein, K. G., Kasper, J. C. Nature of Stochastic Ion Heating in the Solar Wind: Testing the Dependence on Plasma Beta and Turbulence Amplitude 2017ApJ...850L..11V
Klein, K. G., Kasper, J. C., Korreck, K. E., Stevens, M. L. Applying Nyquist's method for stability determination to solar wind observations 2017JGRA..122.9815K
Howes, G. G., McCubbin, A. J., Klein, K. G. Using Field-Particle Correlations to Show that Landau Damping Leads to Spatially Intermittent Particle Energization in Current Sheets 2017APS..DPPNP11158
Klein, K. G., Howes, G. G., Tenbarge, J. M. Diagnosing collisionless energy transfer using field-particle correlations: gyrokinetic turbulence 2017JPlPh..83d5301K
Klein, K. G. Characterizing fluid and kinetic instabilities using field-particle correlations on single-point time series 2017PhPl...24e5901K
Howes, G. G., Klein, K. G., Li, T. C. Diagnosing collisionless energy transfer using field-particle correlations: Vlasov-Poisson plasmas 2017JPlPh..83a7002H
Li, T. C., Howes, G. G., Klein, K. G., TenBarge, J. M. Energy Dissipation and Landau Damping in Two- and Three-dimensional Plasma Turbulence 2016ApJ...832L..24L
Verscharen, D., Chandran, B. D. G., Klein, K. G., Quataert, E. Collisionless Isotropization of the Solar-wind Protons by Compressive Fluctuations and Plasma Instabilities 2016ApJ...831..128V
Klein, K. G., Chandran, B. D. G. Evolution of The Proton Velocity Distribution due to Stochastic Heating in the Near-Sun Solar Wind 2016ApJ...820...47K
| Available files | Size | Created |
|---|---|---|
 Klein_Kristopher_CV.pdf | 55.89 KB | December 15, 2018 |
| Semester | Course | Day/Time | Location | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2020 | PTYS 170A1-001 | |||
| Fall 2020 | PTYS 537-001 | |||
| Fall 2019 | PTYS 170A1-001 | TTH 12:30-1:45p.m. | Kuiper 308 |