Magnetosheath plasma flow model around Mercury

Abstract. The magnetosheath is defined as the plasma region between the bow shock, where the super-magnetosonic solar wind plasma is decelerated and heated, and the outer boundary of the intrinsic planetary magnetic field, the so called magnetopause. Based on the Soucek-Escoubet magnetosheath flow model at Earth, we present the first analytical magnetosheath plasma flow model for Mercury. It can be used to estimate the plasma flow magnitude and direction at any given point in the magnetosheath exclusively on the basis of the plasma parameters of the upstream solar wind. The aim of this paper is to provide a tool to back-trace the magnetosheath plasma flow between multiple observation points or from a given spacecraft location to the bow shock.