强烈的等离子体波在太阳风和太阳风附近结束冲击
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA. donald-gurnett@uiowa.edu
Nature
|July 4, 2008
概括
旅行者2号在太阳风的终结冲击中检测到强烈的等离子体波. 这些电场类似于行星弓冲击的电场,对于能量消散和粒子再平衡至关重要.
科学领域:
- 空间物理 空间物理
- 等离子体物理学的物理学
- 太空物理学 太空物理学
背景情况:
- 等离子波是由冲击过渡层中的非热粒子分布产生的.
- 这些波的电场在冲击能量消散和粒子热化中起着至关重要的作用.
研究的目的:
- 报告在太阳风终结冲击处检测到强烈的等离子波电场.
- 描述这些波的性质,并将它们与其他天体物理冲击中的类似现象进行比较.
主要方法:
- 使用了旅行者2号航天器上的等离子波仪器.
- 分析了上游电子等离子振荡和宽带静电波爆发的数据.
主要成果:
- 从2007年8月1日开始,在83.4天文单位 (au) 检测到上游电子等离子振荡.
- 在2007年8月31日至9月1日83.7时,在终端冲击交叉期间观察到宽带静电波的强烈爆发.
- 发现波谱在数量上与在行星弓冲击中观察到的波谱相似.
结论:
- 检测到的波提供了在太阳风终结冲击时强烈电场的直接证据.
- 与行星弓冲击波的相似性表明,在不同的等离子体环境中,控制冲击相互作用的共同物理过程.
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