THEORY OF MAGNETOSONIC WAVE PLATEAU SHOCKS DRIVEN BY UPPER-HYBRID WAVES

The existence as well as the structure of magnetosonic wave-plateau shocks driven by upper-hybrid waves in a two-component electron-ion magnetized plasma is analysed. In the incident region the field quantities have a standing-wave structure, whereas in the evanescent region they monotonically reach constant values. The plasma flow velocity undergoes a transition from submagnetosonic (in the evanescent region) to supermagnetosonic (in the incident region) values via the magnetosonic point. The number density (or the magnetic field) across the shock-front region has a steep gradient and connects a rarefaction (under-dense) wave in the incident region to a shelf-like (over-dense) structure in the evanescent region, where the upper-hybrid electric field drops to zero monotonically. For the case of small- but finite-amplitude shocks the detailed structures of the profiles are obtained analytically. For large-amplitude shocks the profiles are computed using numerical methods. An extension of the present theory as well as some possible applications are pointed out.