Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jun 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010apj...715.1109b&link_type=abstract
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 715, Issue 2, pp. 1109-1116 (2010).
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Acceleration Of Particles, Shock Waves, Sun: Heliosphere
Scientific paper
The recent Voyager 2 (V2) observations of the termination shock (TS) indicate that it is a plasma shock unlike any other in the heliosphere with the dynamics and structure heavily influenced by the presence of an energized population of pickup ions (PUIs). The "unexpected" finding of cold plasma downstream of the TS in the heliosheath, corresponding to very little heating of the thermal solar wind (SW), suggests that the energy dissipated by the shock is dominated by the energization of PUIs at the TS. We examine the "shock surfing" mechanism at the test particle level, where multiply reflected ions (MRIs) gain energy from the motional electric field as a consequence of reflection from the cross-shock potential (CSP), for a model of the TS3 (the third TS crossing measured by V2). The energization of PUI filled-shell distributions at a stationary, perpendicular model of the TS3 indicates that shock surfing can provide both substantial PUI acceleration and a dissipation mechanism at the TS. For a sufficiently strong CSP and sufficiently narrow shock ramp MRI acceleration can account for the "missing" energy of the downstream SW plasma.
Burlaga Leonard Francis
Burrows Ross Hrant
Ness Norman F.
Webb Gary M.
Zank Gary P.
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