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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH,
VOL. 112,
A12220,
9 PP., 2007
doi:10.1029/2007JA012627
MHD simulation for the interaction of an interplanetary shock with the Earth's magnetosphere
Institute of Physics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
The global BATS-R-US MHD code is used to simulate the interaction of a moderately strong interplanetary shock with the Earth's magnetosphere. The model predicts the propagation of a transmitted fast shock through the magnetosheath and magnetosphere and the reflection of this shock from the inner numerical boundary. The reflected fast shock propagates sunward through the dayside magnetosphere and magnetosheath. The passage of the transmitted shock causes the bow shock and magnetopause to move inward, while the passage of the reflected fast shock causes these boundaries to move outward, consistent with previously reported in situ observations. A supplementary study employing a one-dimensional MHD model addresses the interaction of the forward fast shock with the plasmapause. This study demonstrates that most of the energy associated with the fast shock energy penetrates into the plasmasphere. Consequently, the transmitted fast wave must reach the ionosphere, produce the well known sudden impulse signatures, and then be reflected due to the shielding effects of ionospheric currents. The predictions of the numerical simulations are consistent with observations of the dayside geosynchronous magnetic field.
Received 10 July 2007; accepted 10 October 2007; published 28 December 2007.
Citation: (2007), MHD simulation for the interaction of an interplanetary shock with the Earth's magnetosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 112, A12220, doi:10.1029/2007JA012627.
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