The interaction of Interplanetary Shocks with the day-side magnetosphere within Global-MHD simulations

Abstract:

The onset of extreme space weather events are characterised by the arrival of a strong fast-forward shock which impacts the magnetosphere and drives the sudden storm commencement phase associated with geomagnetic storms. This dynamic interaction results in large-scale reconfigurations of the global fields, most notably the rapid compression of day-side magnetopause down to lower L-shells. We use the Global-MHD simulation code, Gorgon, to study this phenomenon and inject IP shocks of various strengths, in accordance with the Rankine-Hugoniot jump conditions, into the solar wind and examine their impact on the magnetosphere. We constrain the motion and deformation of the day-side magnetopause boundary and how the magnetopause surface intersects the drift orbits of outer radiation belt electron and protons which results in significant losses and acceleration. These results are discussed in the context of space weather forecasting.