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  4. Characterization of Saturn's bow shock: magnetic field observations of quasi-perpendicular shocks
 
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Characterization of Saturn's bow shock: magnetic field observations of quasi-perpendicular shocks
File(s)
Sulaiman_et_al-2016-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research-_Space_Physics.pdf (504 KB)
Published version
Author(s)
Sulaiman, AH
Masters, A
Dougherty, MK
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Collisionless shocks vary drastically from terrestrial to astrophysical regimes resulting in radically different characteristics. This poses two complexities. First, separating the influences of these parameters on physical mechanisms such as energy dissipation. Second, correlating observations of shock waves over a wide range of each parameter, enough to span across different regimes. Investigating the latter has been restricted since the majority of studies on shocks at exotic regimes (such as supernova remnants) have been achieved either remotely or via simulations, but rarely by means of in situ observations. Here we present the parameter space of MA bow shock crossings from 2004 to 2014 as observed by the Cassini spacecraft. We find that Saturn's bow shock exhibits characteristics akin to both terrestrial and astrophysical regimes (MA of order 100), which is principally controlled by the upstream magnetic field strength. Moreover, we determined the θBn of each crossing to show that Saturn's (dayside) bow shock is predominantly quasi-perpendicular by virtue of the Parker spiral at 10 AU. Our results suggest a strong dependence on MA in controlling the onset of physical mechanisms in collisionless shocks, particularly nontime stationarity and variability. We anticipate that our comprehensive assessment will yield deeper insight into high MA collisionless shocks and provide a broader scope for understanding the structures and mechanisms of collisionless shocks.
Date Issued
2016-05-24
Date Acceptance
2016-04-30
Citation
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 2016, 121 (5), pp.4425-4434
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/38768
DOI
https://www.dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016JA022449
ISSN
2169-9380
Publisher
AGU Publications
Start Page
4425
End Page
4434
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Volume
121
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© 2016 American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
Publication Status
Published
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