Impact of a Rotational Discontinuity of the Solar Windon the Earth's Bow Shock

The interaction of a rotational (plane-polarized) discontinuity A of the solar wind with the Earth's bow shock S _b is studied in the parametric form. The velocity of displacement of the bow shock is estimated. An asymmetry of the impact on the flanks of S _b and an appreciable contribution of slow MHD waves to the process considered are revealed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.