# Smoothing of MHD Shocks in Mode Conversion

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how shock waves behave when passing through the Alfvén-acoustic layer in a stratified magneto-atmosphere, revealing that only the slow shock is smoothed while the fast shock persists, contrary to some predictions.

## Contribution

It provides new insights into MHD shock smoothing and mode conversion, clarifying the behavior of fast and slow shocks in stratified magnetic atmospheres.

## Key findings

- Slow shock is smoothed during mode conversion.
- Fast shock persists without smoothing.
- Partial mode conversion occurs as predicted by linear theory.

## Abstract

Shock waves are simulated passing through the Alfv\'en-acoustic equipartition layer in a stratified isothermal magneto-atmosphere. The recent ray-theoretic calculations of N\'u\~nez (2019) predicted smoothing of the shock through this layer, causing both the fast and slow components to emerge as continuous waves. However, it is found that the partial mode conversion expected from linear theory for oblique incidence of the shock on the magnetic field is accompanied by a smoothing of the slow-shock only, whilst the fast-shock persists. Explanations are presented based on MHD mode conversion and shock theory.