The Universe is permeated by hot, turbulent magnetized plasmas. They are found in active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants, the intergalactic and interstellar medium, the solar corona, the solar wind, and the Earth’s magnetosphere, just to mention a few. Understanding basic plasma processes of plasma heating and energization in turbulent magnetized plasmas is of fundamental importance if we are ever to understand the evolution of the Universe. However, we still do not understand many of the underlying physical mechanisms of energy dissipation through plasma heating and particle acceleration.

In this session we focus on kinetic scale plasma processes that are responsible for plasma heating and particle acceleration. Of particular interest are turbulent plasmas and shocks, which are known to be efficient regions of energy dissipation. Contributions are welcome addressing such fundamental questions as how is plasma heated and particles accelerated, how is the dissipated energy partitioned, how does dissipation operate in different regimes of turbulence and shocks. We encourage contributions using observations from near Earth space satellites (e.g. Cluster, THEMIS, MMS) as well as planetary satellites (e.g. Cassini, Maven) and solar wind satellites (e.g., Wind, STEREO, Dscvr). Theoretical and numerical simulation studies, as well as studies addressing astrophysical importance of the questions are also welcome. This session is highly relevant for the THOR mission (thor.irfu.se) currently undergoing a study phase by ESA. During the session will be also presented the ESA study of THOR and the current status of the THOR payload.