An injection mechanism for shock waves of arbitrary obliquity

W. K. M. Rice, G. P. Zank, J. A. le Roux

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Evidence exists suggesting that not only do heliospheric shocks accelerate particles up to energies as high as a few GeV/nuc. but that the source of these energetic particles are pickup ions or low energy particles present in the suprathermal tail of the solar wind distribution. To be diffusively accelerated at a shock wave a particle needs an energy significantly greater than that of the expected source particles, the so-called “injection problem”. We present here a model of particle acceleration at shocks of arbitrary obliquity that produces particle energies sufficiently high for diffusive shock acceleration to occur.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3793-3796
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume27
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2000

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Interplanetary Physics: Pickup ions
  • Space Plasma Physics: Shock waves

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'An injection mechanism for shock waves of arbitrary obliquity'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this