Title: Downstream Structures at Earth’s Bow Shock: Jets, Instabilities, and Their Solar-Wind Context
Speaker: Dr Florian Koller (Queen Mary)
Abstract: The solar wind that impacts Earth’s magnetic field is first shocked and modified by the bow shock and the downstream magnetosheath. In addition to this global transition, the bow shock produces a variety of secondary structures and phenomena that shape magnetosheath dynamics and affect magnetospheric coupling. Among the many structures and phenomena observed in the magnetosheath are high-speed jets, ion-kinetic instabilities, and localized turbulent regions, all influenced by local shock dynamics and upstream conditions.
In this seminar, I will present a sequence of studies that examine how these downstream structures form, how they behave, and how they are distributed throughout the magnetosheath. I will also discuss how incorporating solar-wind context provides an additional viewpoint for analysing these phenomena. The broader objective is to clarify how upstream conditions control shock dynamics and drive the formation of secondary structures and downstream variability.