Generation of Whistler Waves by Reflected Electrons and Their Self-Confinement at Quasi-Perpendicular Shocks

TL;DR

This study explores how reflected electrons generate whistler waves at quasi-perpendicular shocks, leading to their self-confinement and potential acceleration, with implications for understanding electron injection in shock acceleration processes.

Contribution

It identifies the conditions under which reflected electrons excite whistler waves and demonstrates their role in confining electrons within the shock, advancing shock physics understanding.

Findings

Reflected electrons excite two distinct whistler instabilities.

Wave generation occurs when $M_A/\cos\theta_{bn} \gtrsim 50$ in Earth's bow shock.

Self-generated waves can confine electrons, enabling stochastic shock drift acceleration.

Abstract

We investigate the mechanism of whistler-mode wave generation by shock-reflected electrons at quasi-perpendicular collisionless shocks. By employing Liouville mapping to construct the electron velocity distribution function in the shock and performing linear instability analysis, we explore whistler wave generation by the mirror-reflected electrons near the upstream edge of the shock transition layer. We find that the reflected electrons can excite two distinct instabilities with different propagation directions when both the upstream electron beta $\beta_e$ and Alfven Mach number in the de Hoffmann-Teller frame $M_A/\cos\theta_{bn}$ are sufficiently large, where $M_A$ is \Alfven Mach number and $\theta_{bn}$ is the angle between the upstream magnetic field and the shock normal. In the parameter regime of Earth's bow shock, the instability threshold condition is roughly given by $M_A/\cos\theta_{bn}\gtrsim50$. Since such shocks are super-critical with respect to the whistler critical Mach number, the generated waves cannot propagate upstream and will accumulate in the transition layer. Furthermore, we find that the pitch-angle scattering by the generated waves may trigger secondary instabilities on the same branch. We suggest that the sequence of instabilities likely happening within the shock transition layer can efficiently scatter the reflected electrons over a broad range of pitch angles. Consequently, the reflected electrons may be confined within the shock by the waves generated by themselves. The self-confinement provides the necessary ingredient of stochastic shock drift acceleration, which then offers a plausible mechanism for the electron injection into diffusive shock acceleration.