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Electron heating at interplanetary shocks

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6860312
Data for 41 forward interplanetary shocks 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 more efficiently than they heat the electrons.
Research Organization:
Los Alamos Scientific Lab., NM (USA)
OSTI ID:
6860312
Report Number(s):
N-84-13098
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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