Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agufmsm22a0781b&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001, abstract #SM22A-0781
Physics
2712 Electric Fields (2411), 2784 Solar Wind/Magnetosphere Interactions, 7851 Shock Waves
Scientific paper
An electric field, which acts to oppose solar wind ions, exists across collisionless shocks in the solar wind and is thought to be the primary agent of parallel electron heating at collisionless shocks. Measurements of this electric field are rare in the literature. We use observations from the EFW instrument on Cluster to measure this field. A stationary shock frame is established, using a timing analysis on spacecraft potential measurements of the shock density profile. The measured electric field is corrected for the motion of this frame, then transformed to the deHoffman-Teller (dHT) frame, which moves along the shock to null the solar wind convection field. In the deHoffman-Teller frame, the electric field is integrated through the shock layer for the potential. We discuss the conditions under which this technique is useful and compare measured shock potentials with expectations from electron heating studies. Some preliminary work on observations of plasma waves in the shock transition will also be discussed.
Bale Stuart D.
Mozer Forrest S.
Prenger R. J.
No associations
LandOfFree
Cluster/EFW measurements of the electric potential across collisionless shocks does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Cluster/EFW measurements of the electric potential across collisionless shocks, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Cluster/EFW measurements of the electric potential across collisionless shocks will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1383309