Bow Shock-Magnetopause Coupling Processes as a Function of Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) Orientation

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This project will examine the physical processes the couple Earth's magnetosphere to the solar wind. The project will specifically address the processes in the foreshock region, the bow shock itself, and the magnetosheath region that lies between the bow shock and the magnetopause. The objective is to understand these processes as a function of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientation. The direction of IMF determines the position of the foreshock, properties and the nature of ULF turbulence in the dayside magnetosheath and the nature of transport processes at the magnetopause such as locations of magnetic reconnection or presence or absence of the Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) instability. Another important factor will be to understand how solar wind discontinuities interact with the foreshock and bow shock and how the discontinuities propagate through the magnetosheath and impact the magnetopause.The project will primarily use global hybrid simulations (kinetic ions, fluid electrons) to examine the details of the physical processes involved. Results from the simulations will be compared with spacecraft data from missions such as Cluster and THEMIS as well as ground-based observations from all-sky imagers and magnetometers. The proposed work includes participation of undergraduate and graduate students in space physics at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico who will learn about theory and modeling and will work on comparing simulation and spacecraft data. The results of the proposed studies will be presented at scientific meetings and published in peer-reviewed scientific literature. All the spacecraft data processed for this study will be made available to the community.