Abstract
Abstract Plasma wave experiment APV-N (Vega mission) has detected clear effects correlating with two internal boundaries (at ∼770 000 and ∼350 000 km from the nucleus) of the comet Halley plasma environment. Important signatures of these boundaries were found by some other experiments aboard the Giotto and Vega spacecraft. Taking into account all the effects we have proposed the following interpretation: the charge-exchange cooling of cometary plasma leads to formation of a rarefaction wave (the region between ∼900 and ∼800 000 km) and of a weak shock wave (probably at ∼350 000 km) in the supersonic region inside the bow shock flanks: at the inner edge of the rarefaction wave as well as at the shock front the nonlinear (solitary) waves, with length ∼20 000 km, are generated; reflection of ions at the nonlinear waves gives rise to the cumulation of α-particles, plasma turbulence, electron heating.
Published Version
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