Global Occurrence of Solitary Waves in the Martian Magnetosphere
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This letter presents a global occurrence of bipolar solitary waves (SWs) in the Martian magnetosphere. We utilized medium‐frequency electric field measurements from October 2014 to December 2023 from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft. The Solitary Wave Identifying Tool (SWIT) is used to identify SWs automatically from this large data set. A total of 198,171 SW structures are found at altitudes above 500 km. The amplitude and width of the SWs are found in the range of 0.5–90 mV/m and 0.1–2.2 ms. These structures are predominantly found in the magnetosheath region, with an enhanced occurrence in the dawn (4–7 LT) and dusk (15–19 LT) sectors. The study reveals that high‐amplitude SWs occur near the downstream of the nominal bow shock location, which is consistent with terrestrial observations, whereas the occurrence of SWs with broader widths is more common in the dayside magnetosheath.
Source: Geophysical Research Letters
DOI: 10.1029/2025gl121470
Authors: Sahil Pandey, Amar Kakad, Bharati Kakad
Institution: Indian Institute of Geomagnetism
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,190
OpenAlex ID: W7162867824