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Evolution of high-speed jets and plasmoids downstream of the quasi-perpendicular bow shock
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  • Oleksandr Goncharov,
  • Herbert Gunell,
  • Maria Hamrin,
  • Siung Chong
Oleksandr Goncharov
Umeå University

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Herbert Gunell
Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy
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Maria Hamrin
Umeå University
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Siung Chong
Umeå University
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Abstract

Plasma structures with enhanced dynamic pressure, density or speed are often observed in Earth’s magnetosheath. We present a statistical study of these structures, known as jets and fast plasmoids, in the magnetosheath, downstream of both the quasi-perpendicular and quasi-parallel bow shocks. Using measurements from the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft and OMNI solar wind data from 2015–2017, we present observations of jets during different upstream conditions and in the wide range distances from the bow shock. Jets observed downstream of the quasi-parallel bow shock are seen to propagate deeper and faster into the magnetosheath and on towards the magnetopause. We estimate the shape of the structures by treating the leading edge as a shock surface, and the result is that the jets are elongated in the direction of propagation but also that they expand more quickly in the perpendicular direction as they propagate through the magnetosheath.
Jun 2020Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics volume 125 issue 6. 10.1029/2019JA027667