Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Jan 1993
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993phdt........11f&link_type=abstract
Ph.D. Thesis California Univ., Los Angeles, CA.
Physics
Plasma Physics
Bow Waves, Collisionless Plasmas, Ion Cyclotron Radiation, Magnetoacoustic Waves, Magnetohydrodynamic Waves, Plasma Interactions, Plasma Physics, Shock Waves, Solar Planetary Interactions, Solar Wind, Anisotropy, International Sun Earth Explorers, Ion Temperature, Magnetic Fields, Multimission Modular Spacecraft, Shock Layers, Whistlers, Wind Velocity
Scientific paper
The physical processes of the collisionless bow shock are examined using spacecraft data from the International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) mission. These processes are analyzed as a function of the upstream parameters of the solar wind medium. The four main parameters which are important in determining the physical behavior of the shock are the ratio between the thermal and magnetic pressure of the solar wind, or the plasma beta, beta, the ratio between the oncoming solar wind velocity and the speed at which fast magnetosonic waves travel, or the magnetosonic Mach number, M(MS), the angle between the magnetic field and shock normal directions, theta(BN), and the ratio of specific heats, gamma. At low Mach numbers, the shock steepens out a precursor whistler mode wave, and the shock becomes decoupled from the precursor wave as the Mach number increases. There is a noncoplanar magnetic field component within the shock ramp which serves to differentially heat the electrons and ions in their passage through the shock layer. For higher Mach numbers, ion cyclotron waves remove ion temperature anisotropies downstream of the quasi-perpendicular shock and upstream magnetosonic waves are mode converted to Alfven mode wave downstream of the quasi-parallel shock. Mirror mode waves exist downstream of the quasi-perpendicular shock for conditions when the downstream plasma beta and solar wind helium content is high. The ratio of criticality, an upstream parameter which is highly correlated with the downstream plasma beta, can best order the wave behavior and structural changes of the shock.
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