Browsing by Subject "Bow shock"
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(2021)Magnetosheath jets are a class of structures in the Earth's magnetosheath usually defined by an enhancement of the dynamic pressure of the plasma. Magnetosheath jets have been observed by several different spacecraft over the past few decades, but their origin and formation mechanism have remained unclear. The aim of this thesis is to use data from a global simulation to investigate the origin of magnetosheath jets. We defined two different kinds of structures, magnetosheath jets and foreshock compressive structures (FCS), and collected a database of individual jets and FCSs from 4 Vlasiator global hybrid-Vlasov simulation runs, all of which simulate only the ecliptic plane. We then conducted a statistical analysis of the properties of jets and FCSs, and their occurrence rates as a function of the definition of the FCS criterion. Jets were separated into two categories: jets that form in contact with FCSs (FCS-jets), and those that do not (non-FCS-jets). We found that up to 75% of magnetosheath jets form in association with an FCS impacting the Earth's bow shock. We also found that FCS-jets penetrate deeper into the magnetosheath than non-FCS-jets. Finally, we found no conclusive explanation for the formation of non-FCS-jets. The properties of both jets and FCSs agree qualitatively and to some extent quantitatively with spacecraft observations and other simulations in the literature. The formation of jets from FCSs impacting the bow shock is similar to the proposed theory that jets are linked to Short Large-Amplitude Magnetic Structures (SLAMS). In the future, we will study magnetosheath jets and FCSs in polar plane simulation runs as well, and ultimately in full 3D simulation runs. If made possible by new simulations, the effects of electron kinetic effects on jets and FCSs will also be studied. Comparison studies with spacecraft observations of jet formation from FCSs will also be conducted, if and when such observations are found and become available.
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(2023)A stream of charged particles known as the solar wind constantly flows with supersonic speed in our solar system. As the supersonic solar wind encounters Earth's magnetic field, a bow shock forms where the solar wind is compressed, heated and slowed down. Not all ions of the solar wind pass through the shock but rather a portion are reflected back upstream. What happens to the reflected ions depends on the magnetic field geometry of the shock. In the case where the angle between the upstream magnetic field and the shock normal vector is small, the reflected ions follow the magnetic field lines upstream and form a foreshock region. In this case the shock is called quasi-parallel. In the case of a quasi-perpendicular shock, where the angle is large, the reflected ions gyrate back to the shock, accelerated by the convection electric field. Upon returning to the shock, the ions have more energy and either pass through the shock or are reflected again, repeating the process. Ion reflection is important for accelerating ions in shocks. In this work we study the properties and ion reflection of the quasi-perpendicular bow shock in Vlasiator simulations. Vlasiator is a plasma simulation which models the interaction between solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field. The code simulates the dynamics of plasma using a hybrid-Vlasov model, where ions are represented as velocity distribution functions (VDF) and electrons as magnetohydrodynamic fluid. Two Vlasiator runs are used in this work. The ion reflection is studied by analysing VDFs at various points in the quasi-perpendicular shock. The analysis is performed with reflections in multiple different frames. A virtual spacecraft is placed in the simulation to study shock properties and ion dynamics, such as the shock potential and ion reflection efficiency. These are compared to spacecraft observations and other simulations to test how well Vlasiator models the quasi-perpendicular bow shock. We find that the ion reflection follows a model for specular reflection well in all tested frames, especially in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field. In addition, the study was extended to model second specular reflections which were also observed. We conclude that the ions in Vlasiator simulations are nearly specularly reflected. The properties of the quasi-perpendicular bow shock are found to be in quantitative agreement with spacecraft observations. Ion reflection efficiency is found to match observations well. Shock potential investigations revealed that spacecraft observations may have large uncertainties compared to the real shock potential.
Now showing items 1-2 of 2