Open AccessInteraction of rotational discontinuities with energetic ions in the precursor of the Earth’s bow shock
Author(s) -
Yu. A. Kropotina,
Anton Artemyev,
A. M. Bykov,
Dmitri Vainchtein
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/2103/1/012015
Subject(s) - classification of discontinuities , solar wind , foreshock , bow wave , bow shock (aerodynamics) , physics , shock wave , kinetic energy , excited state , whistler , ion , shock (circulatory) , dissociation (chemistry) , geophysics , atomic physics , computational physics , plasma , mechanics , geology , classical mechanics , chemistry , aftershock , seismology , medicine , mathematical analysis , mathematics , quantum mechanics
We combined in-situ solar wind observations by ARTEMIS and MMS missions with kinetic hybrid simulations to study the interaction of solar wind rotational discontinuities (RDs) with the foreshock of the Earth’s bow shock. We found that whistler modes excited by diffuse energetic particles were strongly coupled with RDs and lead to their temporary dissociation. At the same time, RDs trigger the steepening of whistler waves and the generation of ’shocklets’ - small localised shock-like structures, capable of trapping energetic particles and growing up by absorbing the particles energy.