TEMPERATURE ANISOTROPY IN THE PRESENCE OF ULTRA LOW FREQUENCY WAVES IN THE TERRESTRIAL FORESHOCK
- Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom)
- Space and Atmospheric Physics, The Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London (United Kingdom)
We report the first study of the correlation between elevated solar wind core plasma temperatures and temperature anisotropy in the terrestrial foreshock. Plasma temperature is enhanced near the fire hose marginal stability threshold in the presence of ultra low frequency (ULF) large amplitude magnetic perturbations, which are intrinsically right-hand circularly polarized. Direct comparison of contemporaneous anisotropic temperatures in the upstream solar wind and the foreshock suggests that the net heating of plasma is mediated via increase of the parallel temperature in the foreshock region where the ULF waves are present. We consider the possibility that a mechanism based on Landau damping, where solar wind plasma temperature parallel to the background magnetic field is increased by interaction with oblique compressible fast magneto-acoustic ULF waves, influences temperature anisotropy.
- OSTI ID:
- 22365806
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 788, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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