Wave characteristics analysis in the vicinity of shocks in space plasmas : cLUSTER satellite observations, numerical simulation and interpretation

Overview & Synopsis

The doctoral thesis is devoted to the investigation of wave processes in the vicinity of space plasma shocks. The numerical modelling of the Langmuir wave propagation in a plasma with random density inhomogeneities was performed and its results were compared with experimental data obtained by WHISPER and WBD instruments of the CLUSTER spacecraft project. The analysis results showed that the Central Limit Theorem is not applicable to the Langmuir wave intensity statistics in the Earth’s foreshock and the solar wind, because of insufficient number of inhomogeneities affecting the amplitude of the waves. Consequently the normal distribution of the probability distribution function for logarithm of wave energies is not achieved. The remote sensing of quasi-perpendicular part of the Earth’s bow shock front was performed using the analysis of the modulation of Langmuir, upshifted and downshifted wave intensities close to the foreshock boundary. The probability of the shock front nonstationarity observation was found to grow with shock Mach number. The transition radiation of the relativistic electrons at the interplanetary quasi-perpendicular shock front was calculated to explain the mechanism of electromagnetic emission observed by satellites near the shock front on January, 22, 2004. The parameters of the calculation corresponded to the actual parameters of the event. The theoretically predicted spectrum of transition radiation has its maximum in the same frequency region as in the measurements.