Whistler Waves, Core Ion Heating, and Nonstationarity in Oblique Collisionless Shocks

Details Whistler Waves, Core Ion Heating, and Nonstationarity in Oblique Collisionless Shocks Whistler Waves, Core Ion Heating, and Nonstationarity in Oblique Collisionless Shocks

Dec 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufmsh31a0391s&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #SH31A-0391

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

4455 Nonlinear Waves, Shock Waves, Solitons (0689, 2487, 3280, 3285, 4275, 6934, 7851, 7829 Kinetic Waves And Instabilities, 7851 Shock Waves (4455), 7867 Wave/Particle Interactions (2483, 6984)

Scientific paper

It has recently been shown by computer simulations that highly oblique quasi-perpendicular supercritical, low ion beta collisionless shocks are intrinsically nonstationary, i.e., the shock reforms itself on the time scale of a few inverse ion gyrofrequencies. It is well known from theoretical considerations that below a so-called whistler critical Mach number a linear whistler wave can phase stand in front of the shock. The critical whistler Mach number is determined by the highest possible phase velocity and depends on the magnetic field - shock normal angle and on the ion to electron mass ratio. It has been speculated that above the whistler critical Mach number the shock ramp is replaced by a non-linear whistler wave train with wave lengths of the order of the electron inertial length and that when a second critical Mach number is exceeded this nonlinear whistler train becomes unstable with respect to a gradient catastrophe and a nonstationary shock results. At the low ion to electron mass ratios usually used in full particle simulations of shocks the whistler critical Mach number is unrealistically low, possibly below the shock critical Mach number where no ion reflection is necessary for shock dissipation. It is thus important for the investigation of the upstream phase standing whistler waves to perform simulations with the physical mass ratio. We report on a (one-dimensional) Particle-In-Cell simulation study covering a large Mach number and magnetic field - shock normal angle regime where we have used the physical ion to electron mass ratio. Beyond the whistler critical Mach number the nonlinear whistler interacts strongly with the reflected ions and the incoming solar wind ions, resulting in heating of the solar wind core ions and in shock nonstationarity.

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