Interplay Between a Foreshock Bubble and a Hot Flow Anomaly Forming Along the Same Rotational Discontinuity
Abstract Solar wind directional discontinuities can generate transient mesoscale structures such as foreshock bubbles and hot flow anomalies (HFAs) upstream of Earth's bow shock. These structures can have a global impact on near‐Earth space, so understanding their formation conditions is essential. We investigate foreshock transient generation at a rotational discontinuity using a global 2D hybrid‐Vlasov simulation. As expected, a foreshock bubble forms on the sunward side of the discontinuity. Later, when the discontinuity reaches the shock, new structures identified as HFAs develop, despite the initial discontinuity not being favorable to HFA formation. We demonstrate that the foreshock bubble provides the necessary conditions for their generation. We then investigate the evolution of the transient structures and the large‐scale bow shock deformation they induce. Our results provide new insights on the formation and evolution of foreshock transients and their impact on the shock.
Authors
- Yufei Hao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9578-6250)
- Minna Palmroth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4857-1227)
- C. P. Escoubet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4475-6769)
- Hongyang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4571-4501)
- Markus Battarbee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7055-551X)
- Veera Lipsanen
- Shi Tao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6143-0109)
- Souhail Dahani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7905-5500)
- Martin Archer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1556-4573)
- Adrian T. LaMoury (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1551-5325)
- Primož Kajdič (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0625-8892)
- Terry Z. Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1778-4289)
- Jonas Suni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3369-4761)
- Lucile Turc (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7576-3251)
- X. Blanco‐Cano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7171-0673)
- Hui Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5346-7112)
- Yann Pfau‐Kempf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5793-7070)
- Savvas Raptis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4381-3197)
Institutions
- Boston University (US)
- Finnish Meteorological Institute (FI)
- Planetary Science Institute (US)
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- Shandong University (CN)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Purple Mountain Observatory (CN)
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (US)
- CSC - IT Center for Science (Finland) (FI)
- European Space Research and Technology Centre (NL)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Published
- 2025-06-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl116473
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.46
Funders
- Helsingin Yliopisto
- UK Research and Innovation
- European Commission
- Academy of Finland
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
- HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council