The solar wind is not stationary and variations of the magnetic field magnitude and/or direction and plasma parameters are frequent. Interactions of fast forward shocks and interplanetary magnetic field discontinuities with the bow shock were analyzed in details theoretically as well as experimentally.
However, an oblique interaction between a fast-forward interplanetary shock and a directional interplanetary magnetic field discontinuity was studied only within the framework of the ideal magnetohydrodynamics. A fortunate position of six spacecraft on 22 June 2015 facilitates detailed observations of an interplanetary shock modification due to the interaction with the directional discontinuity in the solar wind.
We present a multispacecraft analysis of the event supported with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modeling showing that this interaction can lead to a bifurcation of the velocity jump across the shock.