Universidad de Santiago de Chile — Department of Physics
We study the Earth's magnetosphere, radiation belts, and solar wind coupling using satellite data and ground-based observations. Our group develops machine learning tools for space weather prediction and contributes to developing a pilot space weather monitoring platform for Chile.
Credit: ESA/CESAR
Research
Space physics
Energization, transport, and decay of relativistic electrons in the Van Allen belts. Enhancement and dropout events during geomagnetic storms. Formation and evolution of ultrarelativistic remnant belts. Adiabatic and non-adiabatic processes in the outer radiation belt.
Space physics
Role of electromagnetic ULF waves in trapped particle dynamics. Magnetospheric turbulence and total pressure balance during storms and substorms. Eddy diffusion in the plasma sheet. Wave-particle interactions.
Data science
Prediction of ground magnetic perturbations and geomagnetically induced currents (GIC). Probabilistic forecasting using deep learning (LSTM, CNN). ML model explainability for operational space weather. Plasmapause location with machine learning.
Space physics
Solar wind dynamic pressure effects on magnetospheric turbulence. Foreshock transients and magnetospheric perturbations. Expanding plasma systems: solar and stellar winds. Adiabatic invariants and non-adiabatic mechanisms in solar wind expansion.
Projects
FONDEF IDEA I+D 2025 · FONDEF/ANID
Pilot platform for real-time space weather monitoring and early warnings in Chile, with deep-learning forecasting models. Led by Universidad Adventista de Chile, with USACH as partner institution.
FONDECYT Initiation 2025 · ANID
The role of electromagnetic ULF waves in the dynamics of charged particles trapped in Earth's radiation belts.
FONDECYT Regular 2025 · ANID
Turbulence and total pressure balance in the interconnected dynamic magnetosphere during storms and substorms.
News
In Spanish
El trabajo liderado por la Dra. Matilde Coello estudia cómo la expansión y las microinestabilidades regulan la temperatura del viento solar cerca del Sol, usando datos de Parker Solar Probe.
Victor Pinto presented the group's work on machine-learning space weather prediction at the GSST/CBERS-5 SolarAI Symposium in Brazil.
In Spanish
Un estudio encabezado por Guillermo Caro, ex tesista del grupo, compara el desempeño de cinco magnetómetros para el monitoreo del campo geomagnético.
Team
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics, USACH · Associate Chair for Teaching
Professor
Department of Physics, USACH
Postdoctoral researcher (FONDECYT Postdoctoral grant), USACH
Space plasma physics: waves, instabilities, and relativistic electron losses
Postdoctoral researcher (DICYT Postdoctoral grant), USACH
Expansion, instabilities, and thermodynamics of the young solar wind
Astrophysics Engineering, USACH
ML model for plasmapause location (Van Allen Probes)
Physics Engineering, USACH
Deep Learning prediction of relativistic electron flux
M.Sc. in Physics, Universidad de Chile (co-advised)
Geomagnetic storms and their relation with solar cycle phases
Publications
The effect of expansion and instabilities in the thermodynamic regulation of the young solar wind plasma
Infrastructure
Computing platform at the Department of Physics, funded by FONDEQUIP (2023) and directed by Dr. Victor Pinto. Used to train machine learning models, process large satellite datasets, and run numerical simulations.
Project led by Universidad Adventista de Chile, with USACH as partner institution (2025-2027). It develops a pilot system for real-time space weather monitoring and early warnings in Chile, with deep-learning forecasting models.
Performance evaluation of magnetometers for geomagnetic monitoring, in collaboration with Universidad Adventista de Chile, and analysis of ground magnetometer network data to study geomagnetic disturbances and geomagnetically induced currents (GIC).
Contact
We are looking for undergraduate and master's students to work on relativistic electron dynamics, geomagnetic storm prediction with deep learning, geomagnetically induced currents (GIC), satellite data processing, and magnetospheric turbulence. If you study physics, astrophysics, or a related field, write to us.
We welcome collaborations, thesis projects, and press inquiries about heliophysics and space weather.
Dr. Victor A. Pinto
Group co-lead
Department of Physics, Universidad de Santiago de Chile
victor.pinto@usach.cl
