Magnetohydrodynamic and hybrid simulations of broadband fluctuations near interplanetary shocks

<jats:p>We present results of a theoretical study of evolution of a spectrum of finite amplitude right‐hand elliptically polarized magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves. The analysis includes use of one‐and‐a‐half‐dimensional solutions of the equations that describe compressible MHD together with one‐and‐a‐half‐dimensional hybrid simulation of the phenomenon. The motivation of the study is to understand the origin and properties of finite amplitude waves often observed in the vicinity of collisionless shocks in the heliosphere. The solutions of the MHD equations are compared with both the results of the hybrid simulations and observations previously reported by Viñas et al. (1984) in the vicinity of a quasi‐parallel interplanetary shock. The initial conditions of the MHD solutions were constructed to model the observed spectrum of magnetic and velocity fluctuations; plasma parameters were also chosen to replicate the observed parameters. For the typical parameters of β = 0.5, δ<jats:italic>B</jats:italic>/<jats:italic>B</jats:italic><jats:sub>0</jats:sub> = 0.25 and a spectrum of parallel propagating, circularly polarized dispersive waves, initially the density and magnetic energy density correlations grow due to the (nonlinear) ponderomotive effect. The spectral features below the ion cyclotron frequency are established quickly on the Alfvénic timescale but then persist and match closely the observed fluctuations. The parametric decay instabilities that subsequently appear further enhance the density fluctuations and produce a high‐frequency magnetic power spectrum consistent with the spacecraft observation. The MHD and hybrid simulations extend the previous picture of wave generation by a beam‐driven ion cyclotron instability to the fully nonlinear stage.</jats:p>