Geophys. Res. Lett., 24, 2387-2390, 1997
Abstract:
We present a single example of a previously unidentified type of
upstream wave structure, found several minutes ahead of a forward
propagating, oblique interplanetary shock observed on day 6, 1992,
using Ulysses magnetometer data. The wave appears as an isolated high
frequency wavepacket associated with a larger scale compressive
structure. In the region between the wavepacket and the shock the
magnetic field is moderately, but significantly, compressed and
deflected suggesting the existence of a foreshock. The wavepacket is
dispersive and wavelet analysis shows a near linear decrease in
frequency from 0.3 to 0.1 Hz, continuing across the large scale
structure which is assumed to be the source of these waves. We suggest
that the feature is similar in nature to the shocklet and associated
discrete wavepacket commonly found in planetary foreshocks, but
further examples are required before a definite conclusion can be
reached.
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