Stellar winds and planetary bodies simulations: Magnetized obstacles in super-Alfvénic and sub-Alfvénic flows

Abstract Most planetary bodies are moving in the solar wind, in a stellar wind, or in a plasma flow within the magnetosphere of a planet. The interaction of the body with the flowing plasma provides us with various interaction types, which mainly depend on the flow speed, the magnetization of the body, its conductivity, the presence of an ionosphere, and the size of the body. We establish two cornerstones representing highly magnetized obstacles embedded in a super-Alfvenic and sub-Alfvenic plasma. Those two cornerstones complete the two cornerstones defined in our previous study on inert obstacles in super-Alfvenic and sub-Alfvenic regimes. Tracking the transitions between these cornerstones enable better understanding of the feedback of the obstacle onto the plasma flow. Each interaction is studied by means of the hybrid model simulation code AIKEF. The results are summarized in three dimensional diagrams showing the current structures, which serve as a basis for our descriptions. We identify the major currents such as telluric, magnetosonic, Chapman–Ferraro, and bow-shock currents as the signatures of the particular state of development of the interaction region. We show that each type of interactions can be identified by studying the shape and the magnitude of its specific currents.