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Coupling of newborn ions to the solar wind by electromagnetic instabilities and their interaction with the bow shockThe process by which the solar wind assimilates newly ionized atoms is important for understanding the presence of planetary or interstellar helium in the solar wind, the dynamics of the Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers (AMPTE) lithium releases in front of the earth's bow shock, and the formation of cometary tails. In this paper is examined how newborn ions can be coupled to the solar wind in the direction parallel to the magnetic field by means of electromagnetic instabilities driven by the distribution of newborn ions. The linear properties of three instabilities are analyzed and compared with numerical solutions of the linear dispersion equation, while their nonlinear behavior is followed by means of computer simulation to obtain the characteristic time for the pickup process. With a primary emphasis on the AMPTE lithiuim releases, various degrees of realism are introduced into the calculations to model the upstream conditions and the intersection of the lithium with the bow shock. It is shown that a time-dependent shock model is needed to correctly reproduce the amount of lithium which is transmitted through the shock and that the resulting lithium ion distribution is still likely to be subject to the same type of instabilities in the magnetosheath. Applications of these results to comets, in particular the artificial comet expected to be generated by the AMPTE barium release in the magnetosheath, is also briefly discussed.
Document ID
19850044804
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Winske, D.
(Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, NM, United States)
Wu, C. S.
(Maryland, University College Park, MD, United States)
Li, Y. Y.
(Los Alamos Scientific Lab. NM, United States)
Mou, Z. Z.
(Los Alamos Scientific Lab. NM, United States)
Guo, S. Y.
(Maryland, University College Park, MD; Southwestern Institute of Physics, Leshan, People's Republic of China, United States)
Date Acquired
August 12, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 1985
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 90
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Solar Physics
Accession Number
85A26955
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NGL-21-002-005
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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