Abstract Whistler‐mode waves are commonly observed within the lunar environment, while their variations during Interplanetary (IP) shocks are not fully understood yet. In this paper, we analyze two IP shock events observed by Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moons Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) satellites while the Moon was exposed to the solar wind. In the first event, ARTEMIS detected whistler‐mode wave intensification, accompanied by sharply increased hot electron flux and anisotropy across the shock ramp. The potential reflection or backscattering of electrons by the lunar crustal magnetic field is found to be favorable for whistler‐mode wave intensification. In the second event, a magnetic field line rotation around the shock region was observed and correlated with whistler‐mode wave intensification. The wave growth rates calculated using linear theory agree well with the observed wave spectra. Our study highlights the significance of magnetic field variations and anisotropic hot electron distributions in generating whistler‐mode waves in the lunar plasma environment following IP shock arrivals.
more »
« less
Interhemispheric Observations of ULF Waves Caused by Foreshock Transients Under Quiet Solar Wind Conditions
Abstract Foreshock transient (FT) events are frequently observed phenomena that are generated by discontinuities in the solar wind. These transient events are known to trigger global‐scale magnetic field perturbations (e.g., ULF waves). We report a series of FT events observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in the upstream bow shock region under quiet solar wind conditions. During the event, ground magnetometers observed significant Pc1 wave activity as well as magnetic impulse events in both hemispheres. Ground Pc1 wave observations show ∼8 min time delay (with some time differences) from each FT event which is observed at the bow shock. We also find that the ground Pc1 waves are observed earlier in the northern hemisphere compared to the southern hemisphere. The observation time difference between the hemispheres implies that the source region of the wave is the off‐equatorial region.
more »
« less
- PAR ID:
- 10465299
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
- Volume:
- 128
- Issue:
- 9
- ISSN:
- 2169-9380
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process of energy conversion in plasmas between electromagnetic fields and particles. Magnetic reconnection has been observed directly in a variety of plasmas in the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere. Most recently, electron magnetic reconnection without ion coupling was observed for the first time in the turbulent magnetosheath and within the transition region of Earth's bow shock. In the ion foreshock upstream of Earth's bow shock, there may also be magnetic reconnection especially around foreshock transients that are very turbulent and dynamic. With observations from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission inside foreshock transients, we report two events of magnetic reconnection with and without a strong guide field, respectively. In both events, a super‐ion‐Alfvénic electron jet was observed within a current sheet with thickness less than or comparable to one ion inertial length. In both events, energy was converted from the magnetic field to electrons, manifested as an increase in electron temperature. Weak or no ion coupling was observed in either event. Results from particle‐in‐cell simulations of magnetic reconnection with and without a strong guide field are qualitatively consistent with observations. Our results imply that magnetic reconnection is another electron acceleration/heating process inside foreshock transients and could play an important role in shock dynamics.more » « less
-
Hot flow anomalies (HFAs) and foreshock bubbles (FBs) are two types of transient phenomena characterized by flow deflected and hot cores bounded by one or two compressional boundaries in the foreshock. Using conjunction observations by the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission, we present an MHD HFA with a core filled with magnetosheath material around the bow shock and a typical kinetic FB associated with foreshock ions upstream of the bow shock, occurring simultaneously under the same solar wind/interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. The displacements of the bow shock moving back and forth along the sun-earth line are observed. Electron energy shows enhancements from ∼50 keV in the FB to ∼100 keV in the HFA core, suggesting additional acceleration process across the bow shock within the transient structure. The magnetosheath response of an HFA core-like structure with particle heating and electron acceleration is observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. Ultralow frequency waves in the magnetosphere modulating cold ion energy are identified by THEMIS, driven by these transient structures. Our study improves our understanding of foreshock transients and suggests that single spacecraft observations are insufficient to reveal the whole picture of foreshock transients, leading to an underestimation of their impacts (e.g., particle acceleration energy and spatial scale of disturbances).more » « less
-
Abstract This work identifies and characterizes magnetic structures, especially in terms of small‐scale magnetic flux ropes (SFRs), in the solar wind and magnetosheath across the Earth's bow shock. We investigate the differences between the properties of SFR structures in these regions immediately upstream and downstream of the bow shock by employing two data analysis methods: one based on wavelet transforms and the other based on the Grad‐Shafranov (GS) detection and reconstruction techniques. In situ magnetic field and plasma data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale and Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms missions are used to identify these coherent structures through the two approaches. We identify thousands of SFR event intervals with a range of variable duration over a total time period of 1,000 hr in each region. We report parameters associated with the SFRs such as scale size, duration, magnetic flux content, and magnetic helicity density, derived from primarily the GS‐based analysis results. These parameters are summarized through statistical analysis, and their changes across the bow shock are shown based on comparisons of their respective distributions. We find that in general, the distributions of various parameters follow power laws. The SFR structures seem to be compressed in the magnetosheath, as compared with their counterparts in the solar wind. A significant rotation in the ‐axis defining the orientation of the structures is also seen across the bow shock. We also discuss the implications for the elongation of the SFRs in the magnetosheath along one spatial dimension.more » « less
-
Abstract The Earth’s magnetosphere and its bow shock, which is formed by the interaction of the supersonic solar wind with the terrestrial magnetic field, constitute a rich natural laboratory enabling in situ investigations of universal plasma processes. Under suitable interplanetary magnetic field conditions, a foreshock with intense wave activity forms upstream of the bow shock. So-called 30 s waves, named after their typical period at Earth, are the dominant wave mode in the foreshock and play an important role in modulating the shape of the shock front and affect particle reflection at the shock. These waves are also observed inside the magnetosphere and down to the Earth’s surface, but how they are transmitted through the bow shock remains unknown. By combining state-of-the-art global numerical simulations and spacecraft observations, we demonstrate that the interaction of foreshock waves with the shock generates earthward-propagating, fast-mode waves, which reach the magnetosphere. These findings give crucial insight into the interaction of waves with collisionless shocks in general and their impact on the downstream medium.more » « less
An official website of the United States government
