Publications · UCLA Space Physics & AI Lab
Ideas tested in the literature.
Our work spans fundamental space-plasma physics, radiation belts and waves, auroral dynamics, applied space weather, and machine intelligence for scientific discovery.
Google Scholar snapshot
Recent work, clearly visible.
A curated selection highlights current group activity, while the complete and continually updated record remains one click away.
Landmark work
A few papers that changed the picture.
NATURE · 2008
The unexpected origin of plasmaspheric hiss
Bortnik, Thorne & Meredith connected a pervasive inner-magnetospheric wave population to discrete chorus emissions generated far away.
SCIENCE · 2009
An observational link from chorus to hiss
A coordinated observational study captured the transformation directly, strengthening the physical explanation with in situ evidence.
NATURE · 2013
Rapid local acceleration by magnetospheric chorus
Thorne, Li, Ni, Ma, Bortnik and collaborators showed how chorus waves can rapidly energize radiation-belt electrons.
From explanation to capability
A model that learns the radiation belts.
ORIENT uses neural networks to reconstruct and forecast the dynamic electron environment of the outer radiation belt. It brings years of physics insight, spacecraft observations, and machine learning into an accessible operational research model.
SPACE WEATHER · 2022
Modeling dynamic variability with machine learning
Ma, Chu, Bortnik and collaborators · e2022SW003079
SPACE WEATHER · 2021
A neural-network model of relativistic electrons
Chu, Ma, Bortnik and collaborators · e2021SW002808
Selected recent work · 2026
An active group, across methods and scales.
A snapshot from Google Scholar, selected to show the breadth of current work and the contributions of researchers across the group.
WAVES · GRL
Latitude and frequency distributions of equatorward-propagating chorus waves ↗
Qiushuo Wang, Jinxing Li, Jacob Bortnik, Donglai Ma and collaborators
METHODS · JGR
An automatic maximum-entropy wave distribution method ↗
Ning Kang, Qiushuo Wang, Jacob Bortnik and collaborators
AI · GRL
A neural-network model of inner-magnetospheric electric fields ↗
Man Hua, Sheng Tian, Jacob Bortnik, Donglai Ma and collaborators
CHORUS · JGR
Global morphology of chorus waves in the outer radiation belt ↗
Katie Bunting, Nigel Meredith, Jacob Bortnik, Qianli Ma, Ryoma Matsuura and collaborators
AURORA · NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Evidence for Alfvén waves powering an auroral arc ↗
Sheng Tian, Zhonghua Yao, John Wygant, Robert Lysak, Jacob Bortnik and collaborators
APPLIED SPACE WEATHER · JGR
Radiation exposure at aviation altitudes during the May 2024 storm ↗
Homayon Aryan, Jacob Bortnik, W. Kent Tobiska and collaborators
Complete record
Browse every publication on Google Scholar.
Scholar remains the most current source during this interim period. This page presents selected recent work and can be refreshed periodically without committing the group to a new reference-management system.
RECENT-WORK SNAPSHOT CHECKED SEPTEMBER 2026