Work

Occurrence of Non‐Stationarity at Earth's Quasi‐Perpendicular Bow Shock

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Collisionless shocks can exhibit non‐stationary behavior even under steady upstream conditions, forming a complex transition region. Ion phase‐space holes, linked to shock self‐reformation and surface ripples, are a signature of this non‐stationarity. We statistically analyze their occurrence using 521 crossings of Earth's quasi‐perpendicular bow shock. Phase‐space holes appear in 65% of cases, though the actual rate may be higher as the holes may not be resolved during fast shock crossings. The occurrence rate peaks at 70% for shocks with Alfvén Mach numbers . These findings suggest that Earth's quasi‐perpendicular bow shock is predominantly non‐stationary.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: 10.1029/2025gl116121

Authors: Ajay Lotekar, Yuri V. Khotyaintsev, Daniel B. Graham, Andrew Dimmock, Andreas Johlander, Ahmad Lalti

Institutions: Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Uppsala University, Swedish Defence Research Agency, Northumbria University

Language: English

Topic: Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,190

Funders: European Commission, Swedish National Space Agency, Vetenskapsrådet