Electron heating at interplanetary shocks

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:6524472

Feldman, W C; Asbridge, J R; Bame, S J; Gosling, J T; Zwickl, R D

Data for 41 forward interplanetary shocks measured between August 1978 and December 1979 show that the ratio of downstream to upstream electron temperatures, T/sub e/(d/u) is variable in the range between 1.0 (isothermal) and 3.0. On average, (T/sub e/(d/u) = 1.5 with a standard deviation, sigma e = 0.5. This ratio is less than the average ratio of proton temperatures across the same shocks, (T/sub p/(d/u)) = 3.3 with sigma p = 2.5 as well as the average ratio of electron temperatures across the earth's bow shock. Individual samples of T/sub e/(d/u) and T/sub p/(d/u) appear to be weakly correlated with the number density ratio. However the amounts of electron and proton heating are well correlated with each other as well as with the bulk velocity difference across each shock. The stronger shocks appear to heat the protons relatively more efficiently than they heat the electrons.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 6524472
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-83-259; CONF-821159-1; ON: DE83006067
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640107* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Planetary Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
COSMIC GASES
DATA
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FERMIONS
FLUIDS
GASES
INFORMATION
INTERPLANETARY SPACE
LEPTONS
NUMERICAL DATA
RADIATIONS
SHOCK WAVES
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR ELECTRONS
SOLAR PARTICLES
SOLAR RADIATION
SOLAR WIND
SPACE
STELLAR RADIATION
WAVE PROPAGATION