The dayside magnetopause and magnetosheath are important regions to study in order to gain a better understanding of how solar wind plasma couples to our geospace environment. This grant is to continue a theoretical and simulation study of plasma processes associated with this region and their coupling to the polar ionosphere. The project includes studying 1) the formation mechanism of slowmode shocks in the dayside magnetosheat, 2) the responses of the bow shock and dayside dynamic pressure pulses, 3) three-dimensional impulsive plasma penetration, and 4) the heating mechanism and nonlinear particle dynamics associated with slow shocks.
