Ion thermalization mechanisms downstream of the quasi-perpendicular Earth's bow shock are examined by means of plasma and magnetic field data from the AMPTE/IRM spacecraft which include three-dimensional ion distributions, plasma fluid parameters derived every ~4.3 s, and spectra of transverse and parallel magnetic fluctuations up to 16 Hz. The objects studied in detail are low-Mach number, low-&bgr; shocks in which reflected-gyrating ions are present and contribute to the downstream ion temperature but where processes beyond the ramp take place slowly, so that the basic phenomenology becomes apparent. In MHD terms, most of these shocks qualify as marginally critical. Downstream of the ramp, the initially separated core and ring ions slowly merge into a joint, less anisotropic distribution possessing a high-energy tail. The ion temperature ratio, T⊥/T∥, is high not only in the shock foot and ramp but also within some distance downstream; its speed of decline rises and the residual level lessens with incresing &bgr;.

The ions diffuse about equally fast in energy and in pitch angle. An asymmetry of the distributions with respect to the field direction is present when the shock is slightly oblique. It decays only slowly, which might indicate that the pitch angle diffusion rate near zero pitch angle is reduced. Low-frequency electromagnetic waves are present below the proton gyrofrequency; they are characterized by strong left-hand-polarized emissions and a low level of parallel fluctuations except very close to the shock. The left-hand emissions are often concentrated into a narrow frequency band but sometimes they exhibit a double-humped structure. Waves and ion distributions approach a slowly varying equilibrium some distance downstream of the shock. After extending the analysis to one supercritical shock representing the majority of bow shock encounters, we conclude that our deductions are more generally valid, although the thermalization is faster, usually, and appears to involve nonlinear process which tend to obscure most of the features noted. ¿ Copyright 1990 by the American Geophysical Union