HYPERS simulations of solar wind interactions with the Earth's magnetosphere and the Moon
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Date
2021-02-22
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Citation of Original Publication
Omelchenko, Yuri A. et al.; HYPERS simulations of solar wind interactions with the Earth's magnetosphere and the Moon; Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Volume 215, 105581, 22 February, 2021; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2021.105581
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Public Domain Mark 1.0
This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
Public Domain Mark 1.0
This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
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Abstract
The hybrid simulations, where the ions are treated kinetically and the electrons as a fluid, seek to describe ion microphysics with maximum physical fidelity. The hybrid approach addresses the fundamental need for space plasma models to incorporate physics beyond magnetohydrodynamics. Global hybrid simulations must account for a wide range of both kinetic ion and whistler/Alfvén wave spatio-temporal scales in strongly inhomogeneous plasmas. We present results from two three-dimensional hybrid simulations performed with a novel asynchronous code, HYPERS designed to overcome computational bottlenecks that typically arise in such multiscale simulations. First, we demonstrate an excellent match between simulated lunar wake profiles and observations. We also compare our simulations with two other simulations performed with conventional (time-stepped) hybrid codes. Second, we investigate the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's dayside magnetosphere under conditions when the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field is quasi-radial. In this high-resolution simulation we highlight three-dimensional properties of foreshock perturbations formed by the backstreaming ions.