Evolution of large-scale magnetosonic structures to trains of solitary waves

Large‐amplitude magnetic pulsations on ion inertial length scales are often observed in space plasmas, but their theoretical explanation is still controversial. We discuss a possible mechanism, different from ideas based on the classical plasma instabilities, for the generation of these pulsations. It is demonstrated that a competition between dispersion and wave steepening processes can lead to the transformation of a large‐scale magnetosonic structure into trains of solitons. This kind of longitudinal filamentation is possible for both slow and fast magnetosonic perturbations. Results of numerical simulations are compared with Cluster spacecraft measurements and show that the steepening filamentation mechanism can explain the emergence of a certain class of solitary waves observed in space plasmas. Key Points We show how solitary structures may evolve from magnetosonic perturbations Proposed mechanism works for both slow and fast structures We provide an analysis of experimental data supporting our simulation results