Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010agufmsh24a..05s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2010, abstract #SH24A-05
Physics
Plasma Physics
[2124] Interplanetary Physics / Heliopause And Solar Wind Termination, [2152] Interplanetary Physics / Pickup Ions, [7829] Space Plasma Physics / Kinetic Waves And Instabilities, [7851] Space Plasma Physics / Shock Waves
Scientific paper
A one-dimensional full particle electromagnetic code is used to investigate heating and partition of energy at a quasi-perpendicular shock in the presence of a significant amount of pickup protons. Furthermore the kinetic properties of the pickup protons encountering the shock are studied in detail. The parameters used are appropriate for the heliospheric termination shock. Over 50% of the pickup ions are reflected. We find two types of reflected pickup ions: type 1 ions are reflected by the electric potential in an extended foot and type 2 are reflected in or behind the ramp. Contrary to conventional belief is the cross shock potential large and, even in this case of a relatively weak shock, approximately equal or larger than the energy of the solar wind protons. However, the major potential increase occurs over the extended pickup proton foot. The large potential in the foot is due to gyration of the reflected pickup protons: the large pickup proton bulk velocity in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field and perpendicular to the shock normal direction results in a large normal electric field in the pickup proton foot. It essential to perform simulations of a not exactly perpendicular shock since in an exactly perpendicular configuration instabilities with k-vector components along the magnetic field are not allowed. In the case of a not exactly perpendicular shock the large velocity difference between solar wind protons and electrons in the extended pickup foot results in the excitation of the modified two-stream instability (MTSI). Most of the solar wind proton and electron heating occurs in the extended pickup proton foot via the MTSI. We have also simulated a quasi-perpendicular shock with a higher than solar wind pickup proton density. This results in an extended shock transition in which the solar wind ions behave almost adiabatically.
Matsukiyo Shuichi
Scholer Manfred
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