Citation: | Qu, B. H., Lu, J. Y., Wang, M., Yuan, H. Z., Zhou, Y. and Zhang, H. X. (2021). Formation of the bow shock indentation: MHD simulation results. Earth Planet. Phys., 5(3), 259–269. doi: 10.26464/epp2021033 |
Simulation results from a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model are used to examine whether the bow shock has an indentation and characterize its formation conditions, as well as its physical mechanism. The bow shock is identified by an increase in plasma density of the solar wind, and the indentation of the bow shock is determined by the shock flaring angle. It is shown that when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is southward and the Alfvén Mach number (