Abstract
Collisionless shock nonstationarity arising from microscale physics influences shock structure and particle acceleration mechanisms. Nonstationarity has been difficult to quantify due to the small spatial and temporal scales. We use the closely spaced (subgyroscale), high-time-resolution measurements from one rapid crossing of Earth’s quasiperpendicular bow shock by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft to compare competing nonstationarity processes. Using MMS’s high-cadence kinetic plasma measurements, we show that the shock exhibits nonstationarity in the form of ripples.
- Received 10 June 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.165101
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Published by the American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Viewpoint
Inside a Plasma Shock
Published 12 October 2016
Satellites orbiting near the edge of Earth’s magnetosphere have measured the velocities of ions accelerated by a shockwave with unprecedented temporal resolution.
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