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Abstract

We discuss the theory of the formation of a quasi-transverse collisionless shock wave in a multi-component plasma. We show that in a plasma with a significant admixture of cold heavy ions, a specific MHD mode can be excited. This mode plays the same role for the collisionless shock formation as a quasi-transverse fast magnetosonic wave in a plasma with one sort of ions. As a result of this mode excitation, the solar wind velocity threshold for the formation of a collisionless shock becomes significantly less than in the case of a plasma with only light ions. We derive a nonlinear differential equation which describes a shock wave when perturbations become strong enough. Based on our theoretical results, we argue that upstream of the magnetic pile-up region of Mars or Venus, an additional shock wave may be formed.