(RESEARCH AST, FIELDS AND PARTICLES)
| Email: | li-jen.chen@nasa.gov |
| Phone: | 301.286.5358 |
| Org Code: | 673 |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 673 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: |
2018 – Present: Research Astrophysicist, Heliophysics Science Division/NASA GSFC
2014 – 2018: Research Scientist, Associate Research Scientist, Department of Astronomy/University of Maryland/GSFC
2006 – 2014: Research associate professor, Research assistant professor, Research Scientist III, Department of Physics and Space Science Center/University of New Hampshire
2002 – 2006: Assistant Research Scientist, Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Department of Physics and Astronomy/University of Iowa
Li-Jen's research interests embrace the fundamental plasma physics in naturally occurring plasmas. The primary focus has been magnetic reconnection, shocks, and solitary structures. She currently serves on the MMS and TRACERS missions to advance understanding of magnetic reconnection and its multi-scale impact on plasma heating, acceleration, and planetary magnetosphere dynamics.
2025. "Outstanding Questions and Future Research on Magnetic Reconnection." Space Science Reviews 221 (1): 17 [10.1007/s11214-025-01143-z] [Journal Article/Letter]
2025. "Mach Number Scaling of Foreshock Magnetic Fluctuations at Quasi-parallel Bow Shocks and Their Role in Magnetospheric Driving Throughout the Solar System." The Astrophysical Journal 980 (1): 7 [10.3847/1538-4357/ada440] [Journal Article/Letter]
2025. "Foreshock Ultralow Frequency Waves at Mars: Consequence on the Particle Acceleration Mechanisms at the Martian Bow Shock." The Astrophysical Journal 979 (1): 77 [10.3847/1538-4357/ada250] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Kinetic simulations underestimate the effects of waves during magnetic reconnection." Physical Review Research 6 (4): L042072 [10.1103/physrevresearch.6.l042072] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "The Evolution of Parallel Electron Temperature in Magnetospheric Reconnection Inflows." Geophysical Research Letters 51 (23): [10.1029/2024gl109783] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Complex Interaction of Reconnected Field Lines at Earth's Magnetopause Under Sub‐Alfvénic Solar Wind With Northward Magnetic Field." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 129 (12): [10.1029/2024ja033395] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Interaction of the Prominence Plasma within the Magnetic Cloud of an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection with the Earth’s Bow Shock." The Astrophysical Journal 976 (2): 219 [10.3847/1538-4357/ad8579] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Electron Acceleration in Magnetic Islands in Quasi-parallel Shocks." The Astrophysical Journal 975 (1): 93 [10.3847/1538-4357/ad7678] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Impact of the Out‐Of‐Plane Flow Shear on Magnetic Reconnection at the Flanks of Earth's Magnetopause." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 129 (10): [10.1029/2024ja033154] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Overlapping cusp ion dispersions formed by flux ropes on the day-side magnetopause." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 11 [10.3389/fspas.2024.1430966] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Earth's Alfvén Wings Driven by the April 2023 Coronal Mass Ejection." Geophysical Research Letters 51 (14): [10.1029/2024gl108894] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Field‐Aligned Current Structures During the Terrestrial Magnetosphere's Transformation Into Alfvén Wings and Recovery." Geophysical Research Letters 51 (13): [10.1029/2024gl108839] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Drivers of Magnetic Field Amplification at Oblique Shocks: In Situ Observations." The Astrophysical Journal Letters 965 (1): L12 [10.3847/2041-8213/ad3073] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Global Magnetic Reconnection During Sustained Sub‐Alfvénic Solar Wind Driving." Geophysical Research Letters 51 (6): [10.1029/2024gl108311] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Intermittent Electron-only Reconnection at Lunar Mini-magnetospheres." The Astrophysical Journal Letters 963 (1): L11 [10.3847/2041-8213/ad2774] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Dynamics of the Storm Time Magnetopause and Magnetosheath Boundary Layers: An MMS‐THEMIS Conjunction." Geophysical Research Letters 51 (4): [10.1029/2023gl106600] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Reconnection along a Separator in Shock Turbulence." The Astrophysical Journal 962 (2): 181 [10.3847/1538-4357/ad2204] [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Statistical analysis of overlapping double ion energy dispersion events in the northern cusp." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 10 [10.3389/fspas.2023.1228475] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "HelioSwarm: A Multipoint, Multiscale Mission to Characterize Turbulence." Space Science Reviews 219 (8): 74 [10.1007/s11214-023-01019-0] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "Does Magnetic Reconnection Occur in the Near Lunar Surface Environment?." Geophysical Research Letters 50 (16): [10.1029/2023gl104733] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "Electron Acceleration and Heating during Magnetic Reconnection in the Earth's Quasi-parallel Bow Shock." The Astrophysical Journal 954 (1): 25 [10.3847/1538-4357/ace321] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "Soft X‐Ray Imaging of Earth's Dayside Magnetosheath and Cusps Using Hybrid Simulations." Geophysical Research Letters 50 (10): [10.1029/2023gl103347] [Journal Article/Letter]
2023. "Oblique propagation and temperature effects on the resonant right-hand ion beam instability." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 9 [10.3389/fspas.2022.1100472] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "MMS Observations of Storm‐Time Magnetopause Boundary Layers in the Vicinity of the Southern Cusp." Geophysical Research Letters 49 (24): [10.1029/2022gl101231] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Dynamics of Earth's bow shock under near-radial interplanetary magnetic field conditions." Physics of Plasmas 29 (11): 112902 [10.1063/5.0089937] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Hybrid Simulations of the Cusp and Dayside Magnetosheath Dynamics Under Quasi‐Radial Interplanetary Magnetic Fields." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 127 (10): [10.1029/2022ja030359] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Electron‐Scale Reconnection in Three‐Dimensional Shock Turbulence." Geophysical Research Letters 49 (15): [10.1029/2022gl099544] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Lower‐Hybrid Wave Structures and Interactions With Electrons Observed in Magnetotail Reconnection Diffusion Regions." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 127 (5): [10.1029/2021ja030109] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Strong reconnection electric fields in shock-driven turbulence." Physics of Plasmas 29 (4): 042304 [10.1063/5.0077529] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Automatic Identification and New Observations of Ion Energy Dispersion Events in the Cusp Ionosphere." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 127 (4): [10.1029/2021ja029637] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "The Solar Wind at (16) Psyche: Predictions for a Metal World." The Astrophysical Journal 927 (2): 202 [10.3847/1538-4357/ac51d7] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Solitary Magnetic Structures Developed From Gyro‐Resonance With Solar Wind Ions at Mars and Earth." Geophysical Research Letters 49 (3): [10.1029/2021gl097600] [Journal Article/Letter]
2022. "Unsteady Magnetopause Reconnection Under Quasi‐Steady Solar Wind Driving." Geophysical Research Letters 49 (1): [10.1029/2021gl096583] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Magnetospheric Multiscale Observations of an Expanding Oxygen Wave in Magnetic Reconnection." Geophysical Research Letters 48 (19): [10.1029/2021gl095065] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Bursty magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause triggered by high-speed jets." Physics of Plasmas 28 (9): 092902 [10.1063/5.0054394] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Evaluating the deHoffmann‐Teller Cross‐Shock Potential at Real Collisionless Shocks." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 126 (8): e2021JA029295 [10.1029/2021ja029295] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "A statistical study of three-second foreshock ULF waves observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission." Physics of Plasmas 28 (8): 082901 [10.1063/5.0055972] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Structures in the terms of the Vlasov equation observed at Earth’s magnetopause." Nature Physics [10.1038/s41567-021-01280-6] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Direct Evidence for Magnetic Reflection of Heavy Ions from High Mach Number Collisionless Shocks." The Astrophysical Journal Letters 915 (1): L19 [10.3847/2041-8213/ac0aee] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "3D Space‐Time Adaptive Hybrid Simulations of Magnetosheath High‐Speed Jets." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 126 (7): [10.1029/2020ja029035] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Lower-hybrid drift waves and their interaction with plasmas in a 3D symmetric reconnection simulation with zero guide field." Physics of Plasmas 28 (7): 072102 [10.1063/5.0054626] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Magnetopause Reconnection and Indents Induced by Foreshock Turbulence." Geophysical Research Letters 48 (11): [10.1029/2021gl093029] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Magnetotail‐Inner Magnetosphere Transport Associated With Fast Flows Based on Combined Global‐Hybrid and CIMI Simulation." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 126 (3): [10.1029/2020ja028405] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "The Discrepancy Between Simulation and Observation of Electric Fields in Collisionless Shocks." Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences 7 (592634): 14 [10.3389/fspas.2020.592634] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Solitary Magnetic Structures at Quasi‐Parallel Collisionless Shocks: Formation." Geophysical Research Letters 48 (1): [10.1029/2020gl090800] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "Correlating the interplanetary factors to distinguish extreme and major geomagnetic storms." Earth and Planetary Physics 5 (2): 1-7 [10.26464/epp2021015] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Lower‐Hybrid‐Drift Vortices in the Electron‐Scale Magnetic Reconnection Layer." Geophysical Research Letters 47 (22): [10.1029/2020gl090726] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "A Case Study of Nonresonant Mode 3‐s ULF Waves Observed by MMS." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 125 (11): [10.1029/2020ja028557] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Magnetic reconnection and kinetic waves generated in the Earth's quasi-parallel bow shock." Physics of Plasmas 27 (9): 092901 [Full Text] [10.1063/5.0012443] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Ion-scale Current Structures in Short Large-amplitude Magnetic Structures." The Astrophysical Journal 898 (121): 13 [Full Text] [10.3847/1538-4357/ab9b8b] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Lower-Hybrid Drift Waves Driving Electron Nongyrotropic Heating and Vortical Flows in a Magnetic Reconnection Layer." Physical Review Letters 125 (2): 025103 [10.1103/physrevlett.125.025103] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Reconstruction of Electron and Ion Distribution Functions in a Magnetotail Reconnection Diffusion Region." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 125 (7): [10.1029/2020ja027879] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Electron Energy Partition across Interplanetary Shocks. III. Analysis." The Astrophysical Journal 893 (22): 21 [10.3847/1538-4357/ab7d39] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "Electron Energy Partition across Interplanetary Shocks. II. Statistics." The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 245 (24): 29 [Full Text] [10.3847/1538-4365/ab5445] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "Magnetic reconnection in a quasi-parallel shock: two-dimensional local particle-in-cell simulation." Geophysical Research Letters 46 (16): 9352-9361 [Full Text] [10.1029/2019GL083397] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "Electron Energy Partition across Interplanetary Shocks. I. Methodology and Data Product." The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 243 (8): 26 [Full Text] [10.3847/1538-4365/ab22bd] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "Electron Diffusion Regions in Magnetotail Reconnection Under Varying Guide Fields." Geophysical Research Letters 46 (12): 6230-6238 [10.1029/2019gl082393] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "MMS Measurements of the Vlasov Equation: Probing the Electron Pressure Divergence Within Thin Current Sheets." Geophysical Research Letters 46 (14): 7862-7872 [10.1029/2019gl083549] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "Supplement to: Electron energy partition across interplanetary shocks." Zenodo 28 75806 [Full Text] [10.5281/zenodo.2875806] [Dataset]
2019. "Observational Evidence of Magnetic Reconnection in the Terrestrial Bow Shock Transition Region." Geophysical Research Letters 46 (2): 562-570 [Full Text] [10.1029/2018gl080944] [Journal Article/Letter]
2018. "Electron-scale dynamics of the diffusion region during symmetric magnetic reconnection in space." Science 362 (6421): 1391-1395 [10.1126/science.aat2998] [Journal Article/Letter]
2018. "The two-fluid dynamics and energetics of the asymmetric magnetic reconnection in laboratory and space plasmas." Nature Communications 9 (1): 5223 [10.1038/s41467-018-07680-2] [Journal Article/Letter]
2018. "Electron Bulk Acceleration and Thermalization at Earth’s Quasiperpendicular Bow Shock." Physical Review Letters 120 (22): 225101 [10.1103/physrevlett.120.225101] [Journal Article/Letter]
2017. "Parallel electron heating in the magnetospheric inflow region." Geophysical Research Letters 44 (10): 4384-4392 [10.1002/2017gl073404] [Journal Article/Letter]
2017. "Electron diffusion region during magnetopause reconnection with an intermediate guide field: Magnetospheric multiscale observations." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 122 (5): 5235-5246 [10.1002/2017ja024004] [Journal Article/Letter]
2017. "Hodographic approach for determining spacecraft trajectories through magnetic reconnection diffusion regions." Geophysical Research Letters 44 (4): 1625-1633 [10.1002/2017gl072570] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "Two-scale ion meandering caused by the polarization electric field during asymmetric reconnection." Geophysical Research Letters 43 (15): 7831–7839 [10.1002/2016gl069842] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "Electron energization and mixing observed by MMS in the vicinity of an electron diffusion region during magnetopause reconnection." Geophysical Research Letters 43 (12): 6036-6043 [10.1002/2016gl069215] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "Electron-scale measurements of magnetic reconnection in space." Science 352 (6290): aaf2939 [10.1126/science.aaf2939] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "Currents and associated electron scattering and bouncing near the diffusion region at Earth's magnetopause." Geophysical Research Letters 43 (7): 3042–3050 [10.1002/2016gl068359] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "Electron energization and structure of the diffusion region during asymmetric reconnection." Geophysical Research Letters 43 (6): 2405-2412 [10.1002/2016gl068243] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "On the electron diffusion region in asymmetric reconnection with a guide magnetic field." Geophysical Research Letters 43 (6): 2359-2364 [10.1002/2016gl068373] [Journal Article/Letter]
2015. "Spatiotemporal evolution of electron characteristics in the electron diffusion region of magnetic reconnection: Implications for acceleration and heating." Geophysical Research Letters 42 (8): 2586-2593 [10.1002/2015gl063601] [Journal Article/Letter]
2014. "Highly structured electron anisotropy in collisionless reconnection exhausts." Geophysical Research Letters 41 (15): 5389-5395 [10.1002/2014gl060608] [Journal Article/Letter]
2012. "In-plane electric fields in magnetic islands during collisionless magnetic reconnection." Physics of Plasmas 19 (11): 112902 [10.1063/1.4767645] [Journal Article/Letter]
2011. "Debye-scale solitary structures measured in a beam-plasma laboratory experiment." Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics 18 (1): 41-47 [10.5194/npg-18-41-2011] [Journal Article/Letter]
2011. "The inversion layer of electric fields and electron phase-space-hole structure during two-dimensional collisionless magnetic reconnection." Physics of Plasmas 18 (1): 012904 [10.1063/1.3529365] [Journal Article/Letter]
2010. "Laboratory Measurements of Electrostatic Solitary Structures Generated by Beam Injection." Physical Review Letters 105 (11): 115001 [10.1103/physrevlett.105.115001] [Journal Article/Letter]
2009. "Electrostatic solitary waves in current layers: from Cluster observations during a super-substorm to beam experiments at the LAPD." Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics 16 (3): 431-442 [10.5194/npg-16-431-2009] [Journal Article/Letter]
2009. "Multispacecraft observations of the electron current sheet, neighboring magnetic islands, and electron acceleration during magnetotail reconnection." Physics of Plasmas 16 (5): 056501 [10.1063/1.3112744] [Journal Article/Letter]
2008. "Evidence of an extended electron current sheet and its neighboring magnetic island during magnetotail reconnection." Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 113 (A12): [10.1029/2008ja013385] [Journal Article/Letter]
2007. "Observation of energetic electrons within magnetic islands." Nature Physics 4 (1): 19-23 [10.1038/nphys777] [Journal Article/Letter]
2006. "Electrostatic solitary structures observed at Saturn." Geophysical Research Letters 33 (6): L06103 [10.1029/2005gl024532] [Journal Article/Letter]
2006. "Shedding new light on solitary waves observed in space." Cluster and Double Star Symposium 598 [Journal Article/Letter]
2005. "Electrostatic solitary structures associated with the November 10, 2003, interplanetary shock at 8.7 AU." Geophysical Research Letters 32 (17): [10.1029/2005gl023079] [Journal Article/Letter]
2005. "On the generation of solitary waves observed by Cluster in the near-Earth magnetosheath." Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics 12 (2): 181-193 [10.5194/npg-12-181-2005] [Journal Article/Letter]
2005. "Auroral electron dispersion below inverted-V energies: Resonant deceleration and acceleration by Alfvén waves." Journal of Geophysical Research 110 (A10): A10S13 [10.1029/2005ja011168] [Journal Article/Letter]
2004. "Bernstein–Greene–Kruskal solitary waves in three-dimensional magnetized plasma." Physical Review E 69 (5): 055401 [10.1103/physreve.69.055401] [Journal Article/Letter]
2003. "Wind observations pertaining to current disruption and ballooning instability during substorms." Geophysical Research Letters 30 (6): [10.1029/2002gl016317] [Journal Article/Letter]
2002. "BGK electron solitary waves in 3D magnetized plasma." Geophysical Research Letters 29 (9): 45-1-45-4 [10.1029/2001gl013385] [Journal Article/Letter]
2002. "BGK electron solitary waves: 1D and 3D." Nonlinear Processes in Geophys. 9 (2): 111 [Journal Article/Letter]
2000. "Kinetic properties of bursty bulk flow events." Geophysical Research Letters 27 (13): 1847-1850 [10.1029/1999gl000009] [Journal Article/Letter]
How is the solar wind shocked? A distribution-function perspective from the MMS mission
12, 2023
AGU Fall meeting, San Francisco, CA
Dynamics of guide-field Reconnection: MMS measurements, PIC simulations, and MRX experiments
12, 2022
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Chicago, IL
Lower hybrid drift waves driving electron nongyrotropic heating and vortical flows in a magnetic reconnection layer
March 1, 2021
Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Scientific Assembly, Sydney, Australia
Magnetic reconnection and turbulence: What we learned from the MMS mission and PIC simulations
December 2020
Division of Plasma Physics meeting, American Physical Society
How MMS transforms our understanding of shocks
May 2020
MMS Science Working Team Meeting
Magnetic field amplification, ion acceleration, and reconnection at collisionless shocks
October 12, 2019
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics Conference entitled ”Connecting Micro and Macro Scales: Acceleration, Reconnection, and Dissipation in Astrophysical Plasmas,” University of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
Suprathermal electrons in Earth’s magnetotail, laboratory, and at the Sun
October 3, 2019
Joint HINODE13-IPELS2019 Conference on ”Fundamental processes in the Sun, interplanetary space, and in the Laboratory”, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Electron diffusion regions under varying guide fields in magnetotail reconnection
March 19, 2019
CommunityWorkshop of the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, Yosemite, CA,
Reconnection in the magnetotail and at the bow shock: MMS observations and PIC simulations
October 19, 2018
Second APL Workshop on Magnetotail Reconnection Onset and Dipolarization Fronts, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Collisionless heating in magnetic reconnection: New understanding and open challenges
October 5, 2018
US-Japan Magnetic Reconnection Workshop, Princeton University, Princeton
Electron-scale dynamics in magnetic reconnection observed by the MMS mission
August 14, 2018
Scientific Commission D3.2 on cross-scale coupling and multipoint observations in the magnetosphere, 42nd Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Scientific Assembly, Pasadena, CA
Electron Heating across Quasi-Perpendicular Shocks
July 21, 2018
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
Magnetic reconnection in the era of Heliophysics Science Observatory
July 17, 2018
NSF Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) annual meeting, Santa Fe, NM
2017 - Present
Career Day Speaker, North Bethesda Middle School, June, 2022
Speaker for the Outdoor Afro group (Where Black People & Nature Meet), Magnetic explosions at our home planet and accreting black holes, U. of Maryland Observatory, November, 2017
Speaker, Magnetic explosions at our home planet and accreting black holes, U. of Maryland Observatory Public Open House, November, 2017
Presenter in a Second-Grade Classroom, All about Aurora, Kensington Parkwood Elementary, 11/17/2017
Live interview, MMS and the magnetosphere, NASA Edge, 2018