Simulation of magnetic holes formation in the magnetosheath

Magnetic holes have been frequently observed in the Earth's magnetosheath and are believed to be the consequence of the nonlinear evolution of the mirror instability. Mirror mode perturbations mainly form as magnetic holes in regions where the plasma is marginally mirror stable with respect to the linear instability criterion. We present an expanding box particle-in-cell simulation to mimic the changing conditions in the magnetosheath as the plasma is convected through it that produces mirror mode magnetic holes. We show that in the initial nonlinear evolution, where the plasma conditions are mirror unstable, the magnetic peaks are dominant, while later, as the plasma relaxes toward marginal stability, the fluctuations evolve into deep magnetic holes. While the averaged plasma parameters in the simulation remain close to the mirror instability threshold, the local plasma in the magnetic holes is highly unstable to mirror instability and locally mirror stable in the magnetic peaks. Published by AIP Publishing.