Evolution of high‐speed jets and plasmoids downstream of the quasi‐perpendicular bow shock
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Discipline
Physical sciences
Subject
magnetosheath
jets
plasmoids
Audience
Scientific
Date
2020Metadata
Show full item recordDescription
Plasma structures with enhanced dynamic pressure, density, or speed are often observed in Earth's magnetosheath. We present a statistical study of these structures, known as jets and fast plasmoids, in the magnetosheath, downstream of both the quasi‐perpendicular and quasi‐parallel bow shocks. Using measurements from the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft and OMNI solar wind data from 2015–2017, we present observations of jets during different upstream conditions and in the wide range of distances from the bow shock. Jets observed downstream of the quasi‐parallel bow shock are seen to propagate deeper and faster into the magnetosheath and on toward the magnetopause. We estimate the shape of the structures by treating the leading edge as a shock surface, and the result is that the jets are elongated in the direction of propagation but also that they expand more quickly in the perpendicular direction as they propagate through the magnetosheath.
Citation
Goncharov, O.; Gunell, H.; Hamrin, M.; Chong, S. (2020). Evolution of high‐speed jets and plasmoids downstream of the quasi‐perpendicular bow shock. , Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 125, Issue 6, e2019JA027667, DOI: 10.1029/2019JA027667.Identifiers
Type
Article
Peer-Review
Yes
Language
eng