The structure of perpendicular bow shocks

A hybrid simulation model with kinetic ions, massless fluid electrons, and phenomenological resistivity is used to study the perpendicular configuration of the bow shocks of the earth and other planets. We investigate a wide range of parameters, including the upstream Mach number, electron and ion beta (ratios of thermal to magnetic pressure), and resistivity. Electron beta and resistivity are found to have little effect on the overall shock structure. Quasi-stationary structures are obtained at moderately high ion beta (βi ∼ 1), whereas the shock becomes more dynamic in the low ion beta, large Mach number regime (βi ∼ 0.1, MA > 8). The simulation results are shown to be in good agreement with a number of observational features of quasi-perpendicular bow shocks, including the morphology of the reflected ion stream, the magnetic field profile throughout the shock, and the Mach number dependence of the magnetic field overshoot.

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