Ion Dynamics at A Rippled Quasi-parallel Shock: 2-D Hybrid Simulations

TL;DR

This study uses 2-D hybrid simulations to explore ion behaviors at rippled quasi-parallel shocks, revealing complex ion trajectories, shock reformation, and the formation of superthermal ions in upstream and downstream regions.

Contribution

It demonstrates that ripples are inherent to quasi-parallel shocks and details how ion trajectories vary along the shock surface, affecting acceleration and transmission.

Findings

Ripples are inherent structures of quasi-parallel shocks.

Ion trajectories differ along the shock surface, influencing downstream velocities.

Superthermal ions are present both upstream and downstream.

Abstract

In this paper, two-dimensional (2-D) hybrid simulations are performed to investigate ion dynamics at a rippled quasi-parallel shock. The results show that the ripples around the shock front are inherent structures of a quasi-parallel shock, and the reformation of the shock is not synchronous along the surface of the shock front. By following the trajectories of the upstream ions, we find that these ions behave differently when they interact with the shock front at different positions along the shock surface. The upstream particles are easier to transmit through the upper part of a ripple, and the bulk velocity in the corresponding downstream is larger, where a high-speed jet is formed. In the lower part of the ripple, the upstream particles tend to be reflected by the shock. For the reflected ions by the shock, they may suffer multiple stage acceleration when moving along the shock surface, or trapped between the upstream waves and the shock front. At last, these ions may escape to the further upstream or enter the downstream, therefore, the superthermal ions can be found in both the upstream and downstream.