Simultaneous plasma wave and electron flux observations upstream of the Martian bow shock

Abstract

Flux enhancements of electrons with energies between 100 and 530 eV are observed simultaneously with electron plasma waves in the upstream region of the Martian bow shock. The electron flux appears to reach its maximum when the pitch angle is close to 0°, which corresponds to particles reflected from the shock region and backstreaming in the solar wind along the magnetic field. The correlation between high-frequency waves and enhanced electron fluxes is reminiscent of several studies on the electron foreshock of the Earth. Such a similarity indicates that, in spite of major differences between the global shock structures, the microscopic processes operating in the foreshocks of Earth and Mars are probably identical.