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Electron quasi‐viscous effects in collisionless slow‐mode shocks
Author(s) -
Yin L.,
Winske D.,
Daughton W.,
Coroniti F. V.
Publication year - 2004
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 - 10.1029/2004gl019567
Subject(s) - physics , electron , kinetic energy , anisotropy , ion , electric field , dissipation , atomic physics , computational physics , classical mechanics , optics , quantum mechanics
The dynamics of collisionless slow‐mode shocks are examined using one‐dimensional full particle (kinetic ions and electrons) and hybrid (kinetic ions, massless fluid electrons) simulations. Full particle simulations indicate that the downstream electron temperature becomes anisotropic ( T ∥ e > T ⊥ e ) at very oblique angles. The anisotropy results from both the large mirror effects and the electron heating due to the parallel electric field of very obliquely propagating kinetic Alfvén waves; it gives rise to finite off‐diagonal electron pressure tensor terms in the simulation frame. Inclusion of these electron quasi‐viscous effects in hybrid simulations allows slow shocks to be set up at very oblique angles, as observed in the distant tail, where dissipation from ion‐ion streaming becomes much weaker.