Research
I lead the HelioFísica and Space Weather Research Group at USACH, focused on Earth's radiation belt dynamics, ULF waves in the solar wind and magnetosphere, and machine learning applications for space weather prediction.
Research Areas
Radiation Belts and Relativistic Electrons
Energization and decay of electron radiation belts. Enhancement and dropout events in the outer radiation belt. Formation, evolution, and decay of ultrarelativistic remnant belts. Radial response of relativistic electrons to geomagnetic perturbations.
ULF Waves and Magnetospheric Turbulence
Correlation between ULF wave power and changes in relativistic electron fluxes. Propagation of Alfvénic fluctuations from the solar wind to the inner magnetosphere. Turbulence and total pressure balance in the dynamic magnetosphere.
Machine Learning for Space Weather
Prediction of ground magnetic field perturbations and geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) using deep neural networks (CNN, RNN, LSTM). Probabilistic forecasting and interpretable models with explainability techniques (Integrated Gradients, Shapley Values).
Solar Wind – Magnetosphere Coupling
Solar wind influence on inner magnetospheric dynamics. Geomagnetic storm effects on technology, satellites, and ionospheric disturbances. Particle precipitation into the upper atmosphere.
Active Projects — PI
| Project | Agency | Period |
|---|---|---|
| FONDECYT Initiation 2025 The role of electromagnetic ULF waves on the dynamics of trapped charged particles in the Earth's radiation belts | ANID | 2025-2028 |
| FONDEQUIP EQM230160 High-Performance Computing Platform for Data Science and Simulations | ANID | 2024-2027 |
| FONDEF IDEA I+D National Space Weather Platform for Chile | ANID | 2025-2027 |
| USACH DICYT Research projects: ULF waves in trapped particles, solar wind micro/macro physics, adiabatic mechanisms in the outer belt | USACH | 2024-2027 |
Active Projects — Co-Investigator
| Project | PI | Period |
|---|---|---|
| FONDECYT Regular 2025 Turbulence and total pressure balance in the interconnected dynamic magnetosphere | M. Stepanova | 2025-2029 |
| FONDECYT Regular 2024 Macro and micro physics of expanding plasma systems: solar and stellar winds | P.S. Moya | 2024-2028 |
| NASA LWS Foreshock Transients Impact on Magnetospheric Perturbations | A. Keesee (UNH) | 2022-2027 |
| CNPq Conhecimento Brasil GICs in Brazil and particle precipitation in the South Atlantic Anomaly | J.P. Marchezi (INPE) | 2025-2029 |
Submitted Proposals 2026
FONDEQUIP Mediano 2026 (Co-PI with Tarrío) — ANID
AFOSR Research Proposal — AFOSR
Milenio Nucleus Proposal — ANID
ALMA Observation Proposal — ALMA
ONR Navy Ionosphere GlobalX (Co-PI with Molina) — ONR
Research Infrastructure
HPC Platform, USACH Physics Dept — PI of FONDEQUIP EQM230160. High-performance computing platform for data science, simulations, and numerical modeling. Website
National Space Weather Platform (FONDEF) — Chile's first pilot platform for real-time space weather monitoring and early warnings. In collaboration with Universidad Adventista de Chile.