Parametric Study of the Formation of Magnetohydrodynamic Shocks. I. Model
Abstract
This paper presents a model to study the formation and propagation of planar MHD shocks. The model treats the discontinuity surface of a moving shock as a surface with zero thickness and uses the exact Rankine-Hugoniot relations to describe the jumps in flow properties at all shock crossings. It is shown that in low-beta plasma the impact of coronal mass ejecta on the ambient solar wind evolves to form a pair of forward and reverse slow shocks. The dimensionless parameters that control the formation process are identified, leading to an understanding of how the formation of MHD shocks is affected by various controlling parameters.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- August 1991
- DOI:
- 10.1086/170353
- Bibcode:
- 1991ApJ...377..250W
- Keywords:
-
- Magnetohydrodynamic Flow;
- Magnetohydrodynamic Waves;
- Rankine-Hugoniot Relation;
- Shock Wave Propagation;
- Solar Corona;
- Stellar Mass Ejection;
- Computational Astrophysics;
- Method Of Characteristics;
- Propagation Velocity;
- Solar Wind;
- Space Plasmas;
- Time Dependence;
- Plasma Physics;
- HYDROMAGNETICS;
- SHOCK WAVES