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.