Particles incoming towards the Earth from the Sun can be of different types: protons, helium or heavier particles. The different types of particles are hard to differentiate with our existing technology. In the appropriate conditions some of these particles can be reflected and go backwards, in this process reflected particles can generate waves.

In this work we developed a method that can differentiate the various types of particles and identify the reflected protons. We show an example of how the method works, how it identifies reflected protons amongst the incoming mixture of particles, and how the properties of the reflected protons inform the properties of some of the waves that appear right before the Earth's magnetosphere.