Störmer theory applied to magnetic spacecraft shielding | CU Experts

The existence of a toroidal region from which charged particles are excluded was demonstrated by Störmer (1955) for a dipole magnetic field geometry. Using a standard numerical code to trace the trajectories of particles in a magnetic field, we find excellent agreement with the predicted region for a variety of particle energies and masses. The ability of magnetic fields to shield certain regions from energetic particles, such as galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), has led to the suggestion that certain magnetic field configurations could be used to shield the occupants of a spacecraft from the harmful effects of GCRs during interplanetary space travel. In particular, systems involving a deployed superconducting coil of wire that extends well beyond the dimensions of the spacecraft have been proposed as a viable solution to shielding GCRs. The correct use of the analysis by Störmer (1955) requires that the radius of such a coil be much smaller than the dimension of the region being shielded. Alternatively, it is shown that the energy of the particles shielded from a given region decreases as the radius of a coil with a constant magnetic moment increases. The reality is that large magnetic fields, and thus currents, are necessary to adequately shield GCRs, neither of which are provided by deployed magnetic shields.

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