Electron heat flux and whistler instability in the Earth's magnetosheath
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2026
Despite heat flux's role in regulating energy conversion in collisionless plasmas, its properties and evolution in the magnetosheath downstream of the Earth's bow shock are scarcely explored. We use Magnetospheric Multiscale in situ measurements to quantify and characterize the electron heat flux in the magnetosheath. We find that the heat flux is shaped by the magnetosheath magnetic field as it drapes around the magnetosphere. While it is affected by solar wind upstream conditions and increases with magnetic field strength, it is not substantially changed by local magnetosheath processes. Also, the heat flux is limited by whistler instability thresholds.
Författare
Ida Svenningsson
Institutet for rymdfysik
Uppsala universitet
Subatomär, högenergi- och plasmafysik 1
Emiliya Yordanova
Institutet for rymdfysik
Yuri V. Khotyaintsev
Institutet for rymdfysik
Uppsala universitet
Mats André
Institutet for rymdfysik
Giulia Cozzani
Universite d'Orleans
Alexandros Chasapis
University of Colorado
Steven J. Schwartz
Imperial College London
University of Colorado
Physical Review E
24700045 (ISSN) 24700053 (eISSN)
Vol. 113 6 L063201Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2025)
Fusion, plasma och rymdfysik
Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi
DOI
10.1103/hd9q-t7z8