Analysis of plasma waves in the Jovian bow shock

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6988462

Moses, S L

Plasma wave data from crossing of the quasiperpendicular, supercritical Jovian bow shock by the Voyager spacecraft reveal a phenomenology unexpectedly different form what is observed at earth. Upstream electron plasma oscillations cease at the leading edge of the shock foot, not at the ramp as at earth, indicating that significant electron thermalization is occurring in the foot. A quasilinear model is developed to demonstrate that electron heating results from wave particle interactions with low frequency electrostatic emission arising from the reflected ion beam that forms the foot. The amplitude of the observed waves are consistent with the saturation amplitude determined by orbit diffusion. At earth the electron heating generated by the waves is negligible, and the measured electron temperature jump is primarily caused by adiabatic processes. At Jupiter the wave-induced heating is comparable to the total increase in electron thermal energy across the shock and can explain the abnormally large electron temperature jump detected there. In a quasiperpendicular shock geometry, the wave particle interactions produce an electron temperature anisotropy perpendicular to the magnetic field, which is unstable to whistler mode waves.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Los Angeles (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6988462
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640107* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Planetary Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ATMOSPHERES
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
HEATING
JUPITER PLANET
LEPTONS
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
PLANETARY MAGNETOSPHERES
PLANETS
PLASMA WAVES
SPACE VEHICLES
VEHICLES
VOYAGER SPACE PROBES