Quasi-Parallel Shock Reformation Seen by Magnetospheric Multiscale and Ion-Kinetic Simulations

Abstract

Shock waves in collisionless plasmas are among the most efficient particle accelerators in space. Shock reformation is a process important to plasma heating and acceleration, but direct observations of reformation at quasi-parallel shocks have been lacking. Here, we investigate Earth's quasi-parallel bow shock with observations by the four Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft. The multi-spacecraft observations provide evidence of short large-amplitude magnetic structures (SLAMS) causing reformation of the quasi-parallel shock. We perform an ion-kinetic Vlasiator simulation of the bow shock and show that SLAMS reforming the bow shock recreates the multi-spacecraft measurements. This provides a method for identifying shock reformation in the future.