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Non-specular ion reflection at quasiperpendicular collisionless shock front

Prachi Sharma, Michael Gedalin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The structure of a collisionless shock affects ion motion in the shock front and is affected by the formed ion distribution. In high-Mach-number shocks, a significant fraction of incident ions are reflected by the macroscopic electric and magnetic fields in the shock front. Ions are non-specularly reflected by the combined electric deceleration and magnetic deflection. Here, a first analytical description of the non-specular reflection is presented. The contribution of the increasing magnetic field is evaluated and shown to enhance reflection. The distribution of non-specularly reflected ions ahead of the ramp is calculated and their velocities at the re-entry to the shock are found numerically. Dependence on the angle between the shock normal and the upstream magnetic field vector is illustrated.

Original languageAmerican English
Article number905890505
JournalJournal of Plasma Physics
Volume89
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 18 Sep 2023

Keywords

  • astrophysical plasmas
  • plasma heating
  • space plasma physics

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Condensed Matter Physics

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