Abstract

We propose a Space Sciences team to the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) to take advantage of the current, unprecedented temporal, angular, and energy resolution measurements from the THEMIS, Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS), and Wind missions to conduct focused research on collisionless shock waves.  The motivation for the proposed effort derives from several key unresolved questions about the microphysical processes that regulate the dynamics of collisionless shock waves.  Despite years of investigation the relative importance of quasi-static vs. high frequency electromagnetic fluctuations is not well established, the generation mechanisms and mutual interactions of several ion foreshock phenomena are not well understood, and the partition of energy among the components, including both thermal and non-thermal/accelerated populations of different particle species, lacks any quantitative understanding.  We will prioritize the outstanding questions that can be addressed by a focused effort and resolve those issues in the proposed collaboration.  The proposed effort will primarily draw on on bow shock observations by MMS but will coordinate with THEMIS and Wind observations.  Complementary state of the art multi-dimensional, kinetic, numerical simulations will provide exploration of the context and detailed microphysical processes at work.  Our team is comprised of the top shock researchers, in both data analysis and simulation, from three European nations, the United States, and Japan.