The formation of discontinuities as a result of shock collisions

Other

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

4

Shock Discontinuity, Shock Wave Interaction, Solar Wind, Space Plasmas, Collisionless Plasmas, Larmor Radius, Magnetic Field Configurations, Oblique Shock Waves

Scientific paper

The interaction between collisionless shocks, such as arises in the distant solar wind as well as other situations in space plasmas, is examined by means of hybrid numerical simulations. It is shown that the collision between two perpendicular collisionless shocks gives rise to a tangential discontinuity located between the two transmitted shocks, as predicted by MHD theory. The discontinuity has a clear jump in the density, temperature and magnetic field strength. The width of the discontinuity is found to be a few (1-4) ion Larmor radii. The collision between two oblique shocks produces a much more extensive and turbulent region between the two transmitted shocks and it is suggested that this may be a contact discontinuity. The contact discontinuity also shows jumps in the plasma and magnetic field components and has a helical magnetic field structure. The widths of these discontinuities are narrower than those typically observed in the inner solar wind.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

The formation of discontinuities as a result of shock collisions 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 The formation of discontinuities as a result of shock collisions, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The formation of discontinuities as a result of shock collisions will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1631641

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.