Abstract
With the observations made at the more recent crossings of the Voyager space probes over the solar wind termination shock, up-to-date knowledge of the physics at astrophysical shocks has been deeply challenged in many respects. In this paper, we mainly address the associated facts that the ion plasma downstream of the shock appears to be supercritically anisotropic and induces magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence triggered by downstream instabilities. We present a theoretical study of this phenomenon starting from Rankine-Hugoniot-type MHD shock relations generalized by momentum and energy flows of self-induced turbulence. These relations can be solved for quasi-perpendicular shock configurations for subcritical compressions when no turbulence is triggered. We derive the value for the critical compression ratio and discuss the physical features of subcritical shocks as a function of the upstream plasma conditions. We also pave the way to supercritical shocks with a more complicated treatment.
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call