Double discontinuity: A compound structure of slow shock and rotational discontinuity

Abstract

This paper reports the observations of a compound structure in space plasma composed of a slow shock layer and an adjoining rotational discontinuity layer on the postshock side. The compound structure looks like a new kind of MHD discontinuity; it may be called a double discontinuity. Two dual‐spacecraft observations of double discontinuities using high‐resolution magnetic field data were made in interplanetary space in 1995. The first one observed from Wind and IMP 8 is composed of a reversed slow shock and a rotational discontinuity. The second one observed from Wind and Geotail is composed of a forward slow shock and a rotational discontinuity. A double discontinuity is a stable, large‐scale solar wind structure. The thickness of the slow shock layer is of a few ion inertial lengths. The flow in the preshock region has a low βi value and a large shock angle.