THE INTERACTION OF ALFVEN WAVES WITH PERPENDICULAR SHOCKS

Journal Article · Fri Nov 20 04:00:00 EST 2009 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/706/1/687· OSTI ID:21378154

Quanming, Lu ^[1]; Qiang, Hu; Zank, G P ^[2]

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1. CAS Key Laboratory of Basic Plasma Physics, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China)
2. Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35805 (United States)

Two-dimensional hybrid simulations are performed to investigate the interaction of Alfven waves with a perpendicular shock self-consistently. The perpendicular shock is formed by reflecting the particles in the right boundary, and it propagates to the left. The Alfven waves are injected from the left boundary, and they are convected toward the right. The results show that the injected Alfven waves have no obvious effects on the propagation speed of the shock. However, after the upstream Alfven waves are transmitted into the downstream, their amplitude is enhanced about 10-30 times. The transmitted waves can be separated into two parts, and both of them are left-hand polarized Alfven waves: one propagates along the +y direction and the other along the -y direction. Obvious ripples in the shock front are also found due to the interaction of the Alfven waves with the shock. The great enhancement of the amplitude of the Alfven waves by the shock is verified by the satellite observations. The implications of the simulation results to the influences on the diffusive shock acceleration are also discussed in this paper.

• OSTI ID: 21378154
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 706; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ACCELERATION
ALFVEN WAVES
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
SATELLITES
SHOCK WAVES
SIMULATION