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Density holes in the upstream solar wind

Dandouras, I.; Lucek, E.; Rème, H. +11 more

Larmor size transient structures with depletions as large as 99% of ambient solar wind density levels occur commonly upstream of Earth's collisionless bow shock. These ``density holes'' have a mean duration of ~17.9 +/- 10.4s but holes as short as 4s have been observed. The average fractional density depletion (δn/n) inside the holes is ~0.68 +/- …

Cluster observations of shock-turbulence interactions

Glassmeier, Karl-Heinz; Goldstein, Melvyn L.; Narita, Yasuhito +1 more

Measurements of wave number spectra for two-dimensional, Alfvénic, and compressible fluctuations are presented in the solar wind and the regions related to the collisionless shocks. The spectra are determined from the four-point magnetometer data recorded by the Cluster spacecraft. The solar wind exhibits spectral curves characteristic of the iner…

On wave modes, structures and turbulence in space plasmas: Cluster results

Belmont, G.; Sahraoui, F.; Rezeau, L. +2 more

Magnetic turbulence is known to play a key role in magnetospheric physics since it is involved in all the microphysical processes: energy cascade and dissipation, structure formation, mass transport and particles acceleration, magnetic reconnection, etc. Identifying the experimental properties of turbulence has been therefore one of the major goal…

Wave excitation and turbulence at the Earth's bow shock: cluster data and simulations

Kucharek, H.; Möbius, E.; Miao, B.

Wave-particle interactions are the major player in shock formation, particle reflection and acceleration, downstream thermalization, and wave excitation. In particular, the foreshock is characterized by extensive wave activity, which is caused by the interaction of the backstreaming particles with the inflowing solar wind. This interaction causes …