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Upstream and downstream wave packets associated with low‐Mach number interplanetary shocks
Author(s) -
Goncharov O.,
Šafránková J.,
Němeček Z.,
Přech L.,
Pitňa A.,
Zastenker G. N.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2014gl062149
Subject(s) - mach number , physics , bow shock (aerodynamics) , upstream (networking) , solar wind , wavelength , shock wave , mach wave , interplanetary spaceflight , gyroradius , upstream and downstream (dna) , heliosphere , computational physics , plasma , mechanics , instability , optics , nuclear physics , computer network , computer science
Wave packets are frequently observed upstream and/or downstream of shocks in a magnetized plasma. We present a comparison of Wind and Spektr‐R observations of 27 interplanetary low‐Mach number (<5.5) shocks that reveals that (1) the wavelengths of both upstream and downstream waves conserve over the spacecraft separation, (2) in the frequency range of 0.5–5 Hz, their wavelengths are directly proportional to the shock ramp thickness that is controlled by the ion thermal gyroradius, and (3) the phase shift between density and temperature variations within downstream wave packets is about 90°. These results emphasize a role of kinetic processes in the formation of low‐Mach number shocks.