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Formation of Standing Whistler Wave in Earth's Magnetosheath
  • +4
  • Yang Wang,
  • Jun Zhong,
  • Lou-Chuang Lee,
  • Jiansen He,
  • Hui Zhang,
  • Zhaojin Rong,
  • Yong Wei
Yang Wang
Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Jun Zhong
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Lou-Chuang Lee
Institute of Earth Sciences
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Jiansen He
Peking University
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Hui Zhang
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Zhaojin Rong
Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Yong Wei
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Abstract

The dispersion of shock is universal in various media, and in plasmas, standing whistler waves represent the dispersion of collisionless shocks. However, at present, our understanding of the plasma behavior and electric field properties within these waves remains limited. Using conjoint THEMIS and Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations, we report the first observation of standing whistler wave upstream of a fast shock in Earth’s magnetosheath resulting from the interaction between a solar wind tangential discontinuity and the bow shock. High-resolution MMS measurements provide unprecedented insights into these waves, characterizing their circular polarization, near-parallel propagation to the shock normal, and fixed phase relative to the shock ramp. Moreover, generated ion acoustic waves and wave‒particle interactions are observed in these waves. These findings highlight that the magnetosheath is a compelling region for investigating standing whistler wave properties.
18 May 2024Submitted to ESS Open Archive
21 May 2024Published in ESS Open Archive