Short large-amplitude magnetic structures (SLAMS) and their role in the formation and dynamics of planetary bow shocks

When the supermagnetosonic solar wind interacts with planets in the solar system, a bow shock forms.

Upstream of the shock, non-linear short large-amplitude magnetic structures (SLAMS) are constantly created at Earth when the solar wind magnetic field is close to parallel to the bow shock normal (‘quasi-parallel bow shock’). For this type of bow shock SLAMS can have many important effects on the space environment close to the planet.

We will use data from several space probes to investigate SLAMS at planets from the inner solar system out to Jupiter, including Earth.We will address the following science questions (SQ):SQ1     How do SLAMS properties depend on the planetary environments?What are the basic properties of SLAMS (such as temporal scale size, amplitude, and occurrence rate) in different planetary environments?

Are they mainly determined by the system size, or by solar wind parameters such as the upstream Mach number?SQ2     How do SLAMS interact with the quasi-parallel bow shock in planetary environments?Are SLAMS building blocks of the quasi-parallel bow shock, and are they responsible for the bow shock reformation process?

Will they convect downstream and be found in the planetary magnetosheaths?The knowledge about SLAMS will help in understanding how the near space environment of solar system planets is formed. It can also be applied to future observation of exoplanets and astrophysical shocks. The majority of the work will be performed by a PhD student.