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Mirror‐mode storms inside stream interaction regions and in the ambient solar wind: A kinetic study
Author(s) -
EnríquezRivera O.,
BlancoCano X.,
Russell C. T.,
Jian L. K.,
Luhmann J. G.,
Simunac K. D. C,
Galvin A. B.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1029/2012ja018233
Subject(s) - solar wind , physics , mode (computer interface) , storm , shock wave , shock (circulatory) , optics , computational physics , geophysics , meteorology , plasma , mechanics , computer science , operating system , medicine , quantum mechanics
Mirror‐mode structures have been found in the solar wind at various heliocentric distances with different missions. Recently, STEREO has observed mirror‐mode waves present as trains of holes and also as humps in the magnetic field magnitude. In some cases, mirror‐mode trains last for very long periods of time and have been called “mirror‐mode storms”. We present case studies of mirror‐mode storms observed in the solar wind using STEREO data in three different locations: in the downstream region of the forward shock of a stream interaction region, inside a stream interaction region far from the forward shock, and also in the ambient solar wind. To make a formal identification of the mirror mode, we determine wave characteristics using minimum variance analysis. Finally, we perform a kinetic dispersion analysis and discuss the possible origin of mirror‐mode structures evaluating curves of growth for different regimes of proton temperature anisotropies in a plasma with a He component.