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Structure of the Earth's bow shock

1972; American Geophysical Union; Volume: 77; Issue: 31 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1029/ja077i031p06052

2156-2202

D. Biskamp, H. Welter,

Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics

Numerical simulations have provided detailed information of the microscopic processes that occur in a high Mach number oblique shock wave such as the bow shock. The gross feature of the ion dissipation is a strong interaction of the reflected ions with the whistler precursor, which can be explained by a nonlinear ion-ion counterstreaming instability. The instability simultaneously amplifies the magnetic oscillations of the whistler, which supports the strong magnetic turbulence at the bow shock. In addition, electrostatic substructures have been observed that significantly enhance the thermalization of the ion distribution on the Debye scale.