Measurement of the potential drop across the Earth's collisionless bow shock | Zendy

Formisano V. | Zendy

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Measurement of the potential drop across the Earth's collisionless bow shock

Author(s) -

Formisano V.

Publication year - 1982

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/gl009i009p01033

Subject(s) - kinetic energy , bow shock (aerodynamics) , physics , drop (telecommunication) , shock (circulatory) , mechanics , electric field , voltage drop , solar wind , shock wave , computational physics , geophysics , plasma , classical mechanics , thermodynamics , nuclear physics , current (fluid) , medicine , telecommunications , quantum mechanics , computer science

The normal component of the DC electric field measured on ISEE‐1 usually exhibits an enhancement of a few mV/m over both upstream and downstream values at the Earth's bow shock. Using the measured relative velocity between the shock and the spacecraft (from the ISEE‐1/2 time delay in the magnetometer data) we can transform the observed E enhancement to a potential drop (ΔØ). For a subcritical shock the potential drop was very close to the measured change of particle kinetic energy (ΔØ ≃ 280 V on Day 330, 1977), while for a supercritical shock the potential drop was only a fraction of the measured change of kinetic energy (ΔØ ≃ 140 V on Day 324, 1977). Overshooting of the potential is indicated in the data by a change in sign of the E enhancement.

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