Revisiting the behavior of the E ‐region electron temperature during strong electric field events at high latitudes.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
J‐P St‐Maurice ◽  
L.V. Goodwin
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Electron Temperature ◽  
Strong Electric Field ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
E Region

scholarly journals On the usefulness of <i>E</i> region electron temperatures and lower <i>F</i> region ion temperatures for the extraction of thermospheric parameters: a case study

1999 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 1182-1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-P. St.-Maurice ◽  
C. Cussenot ◽  
W. Kofman
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Electron Temperature ◽  
Plasma Temperature ◽  
Ion Temperature ◽  
Heating Rates ◽  
Neutral Winds ◽  
F Region ◽  
E Region ◽  
Effective Electric Field ◽  
Temperature Observations

Abstract. Using EISCAT data, we have studied the behavior of the E region electron temperature and of the lower F region ion temperature during a period that was particularly active geomagnetically. We have found that the E region electron temperatures responded quite predictably to the effective electric field. For this reason, the E region electron temperature correlated well with the lower F region ion temperature. However, there were several instances during the period under study when the magnitude of the E region electron temperature response was much larger than expected from the ion temperature observations at higher altitudes. We discovered that these instances were related to very strong neutral winds in the 110-175 km altitude region. In one instance that was scrutinized in detail using E region ion drift measurement in conjunction with the temperature observations, we uncovered that, as suspected, the wind was moving in a direction closely matching that of the ions, strongly suggesting that ion drag was at work. In this particular instance the wind reached a magnitude of the order of 350 m/s at 115 km and of at least 750 m/s at 160 km altitude. Curiously enough, there was no indication of strong upper F region neutral winds at the time; this might have been because the event was uncovered around noon, at a time when, in the F region, the E×B drift was strongly westward but the pressure gradients strongly northward in the F region. Our study indicates that both the lower F region ion temperatures and the E region electron temperatures can be used to extract useful geophysical parameters such as the neutral density (through a determination of ion-neutral collision frequencies) and Joule heating rates (through the direct connection that we have confirmed exists between temperatures and the effective electric field).Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; ionosphere atmosphere interactions; plasma temperature and density)

scholarly journals Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar observations of anomalous electron heating in the E region

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1163-1176 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Makarevich ◽  
A. V. Koustov ◽  
M. J. Nicolls
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Electron Temperature ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
Incoherent Scatter Radar ◽  
Electron Heating ◽  
Incoherent Scatter ◽  
Convection Electric Field ◽  
Scatter Radar ◽  
E Region

Abstract. A comprehensive 2-year dataset collected with the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR) located near Fairbanks, Alaska (MLAT = 65.4° N) is employed to identify and analyse 22 events of anomalous electron heating (AEH) in the auroral E region. The overall AEH occurrence probability is conservatively estimated to be 0.3% from nearly-continuous observations of the E region by PFISR, although it increases to 0.7–0.9% in the dawn and dusk sectors where all AEH events were observed. The AEH occurrence variation with MLT is broadly consistent with those of events with high convection velocity (>1000 m s−1) or electron temperature (> 800 K), except for much smaller AEH probability and absence of AEH events near magnetic midnight. This suggests that high convection electric field by itself is necessary but not sufficient for measurable electron heating by two-stream plasma waves. The multi-point observations are utilised to investigate the fundamental dependence of the electron temperature on the convection electric field, focusing on the previously-proposed saturation effects at extreme electric fields. The AEH dataset was found to exhibit considerable scatter and, on average, similar rate of the electron temperature increase with the electric field up to 100 mV m−1 as compared with previous studies. At higher (highest) electric fields, the electron temperatures are below the linear trend on average (within uncertainty). By employing a simple fluid model of AEH, it is demonstrated that some of this deviation from the linear trend may be due to a stronger vibrational cooling at very large temperatures and electric fields.

scholarly journals Fine Scale Dynamics of Fragmented Aurora-Like Emission

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel K. Whiter ◽  
Hanna Dahlgren ◽  
Betty S. Lanchester ◽  
Joshua Dreyer ◽  
Noora Partamies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Strong Electric Field ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Optical Observations ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Group Speed ◽  
Speed Group ◽  
E Region ◽  
Energetic Particle Precipitation ◽  
Normal Sense

Abstract. Fragmented Aurora-like Emissions (FAEs) are small (few km) optical structures which have been observed close to the poleward boundary of the aurora from the high-latitude location of Svalbard (magnetic latitude 75.3 ° N). The FAEs are only visible in certain emissions and their shape has no magnetic-field aligned component, suggesting that they are not caused by energetic particle precipitation and are therefore not aurora in the normal sense of the word. The FAEs sometimes form wave-like structures parallel to an auroral arc, with regular spacing between each FAE. They drift at a constant speed and exhibit internal dynamics moving at a faster speed than the envelope structure. The formation mechanism of FAEs is currently unknown. We present an analysis of high-resolution optical observations of FAEs made during two separate events. Based on their appearance and dynamics we make the assumption that the FAEs are a signature of a dispersive wave in the lower E-region ionosphere, co-located with enhanced electron and ion temperatures detected by incoherent scatter radar. Their drift speed (group speed) is found to be 580–700 m s−1 and the speed of their internal dynamics (phase speed) is found to be 2200–2500 m s−1, both for an assumed altitude of 100 km. The speeds are similar for both events which are observed during different auroral conditions. We consider two possible waves which could produce the FAEs, electrostatic ion cyclotron waves and Farley-Buneman waves, and find that the observations could be consistent with either wave under certain assumptions. In the case of EIC waves the FAEs must be located at an altitude above about 140 km, and our measured speeds scaled accordingly. In the case of Farley-Buneman waves a very strong electric field of about 365 mV m−1 is required to produce the observed speeds of the FAEs; such a strong electric field may be a requirement for FAEs to occur.

scholarly journals Fine-scale dynamics of fragmented aurora-like emissions

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 975-989
Author(s):  
Daniel K. Whiter ◽  
Hanna Sundberg ◽  
Betty S. Lanchester ◽  
Joshua Dreyer ◽  
Noora Partamies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Strong Electric Field ◽  
Phase Speed ◽  
Optical Observations ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Group Speed ◽  
Speed Group ◽  
E Region ◽  
Energetic Particle Precipitation ◽  
Normal Sense

Abstract. Fragmented aurora-like emissions (FAEs) are small (few kilometres) optical structures which have been observed close to the poleward boundary of the aurora from the high-latitude location of Svalbard (magnetic latitude 75.3 ∘N). The FAEs are only visible in certain emissions, and their shape has no magnetic-field-aligned component, suggesting that they are not caused by energetic particle precipitation and are, therefore, not aurora in the normal sense of the word. The FAEs sometimes form wave-like structures parallel to an auroral arc, with regular spacing between each FAE. They drift at a constant speed and exhibit internal dynamics moving at a faster speed than the envelope structure. The formation mechanism of FAEs is currently unknown. We present an analysis of high-resolution optical observations of FAEs made during two separate events. Based on their appearance and dynamics, we make the assumption that the FAEs are a signature of a dispersive wave in the lower E-region ionosphere, co-located with enhanced electron and ion temperatures detected by incoherent scatter radar. Their drift speed (group speed) is found to be 580–700 m s−1, and the speed of their internal dynamics (phase speed) is found to be 2200–2500 m s−1, both for an assumed altitude of 100 km. The speeds are similar for both events which are observed during different auroral conditions. We consider two possible waves which could produce the FAEs, i.e. electrostatic ion cyclotron waves (EIC) and Farley–Buneman waves, and find that the observations could be consistent with either wave under certain assumptions. In the case of EIC waves, the FAEs must be located at an altitude above about 140 km, and our measured speeds scaled accordingly. In the case of Farley–Buneman waves a very strong electric field of about 365 mV m−1 is required to produce the observed speeds of the FAEs; such a strong electric field may be a requirement for FAEs to occur.

scholarly journals The role of total wind in the vertical dynamics of ions in the E-region at high latitudes

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 1191-1197
Author(s):  
M. Voiculescu ◽  
M. Ignat
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Diurnal Variation ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Ion Dynamics ◽  
Convergence Conditions ◽  
Sporadic E Layers ◽  
E Region ◽  
Sporadic E ◽  
Spatial Locations

Abstract. A seasonally dependent total neutral wind model obtained from experimental data is used to evaluate the diurnal variation of the vertical ion velocity in the E-region at a high-latitude location (Tromsø), for each season, in the presence of an electric field with a typical diurnal variation for quiet auroral days. The diurnal variation and spatial locations of the vertical convergence of ions are analyzed and the effect of the total wind on the occurrence of sporadic E-layers is inferred. The results show that the structure of the wind is an important factor in controlling the vertical velocities of ions, favoring or hindering the sporadic E-layer formation. The ion convergence conditions are improved when the permanent wind is removed, which suggests that sporadic E-layers occur when the mean wind has small values, thus allowing the electric field and/or the semidiurnal tide to control the ion dynamics. We conclude that for quiet days the formation of the sporadic layers is initiated by the electric field, while their evolution and dynamics is controlled by the wind. We also find that the seasonal variation of the Es layers cannot be related to the seasonally dependent wind shear. Although we focus on sporadic E-layers, our results can be used in the analysis of other processes involving the vertical dynamics of ions in the E-region at high latitudes.

scholarly journals Axion assisted Schwinger effect

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Domcke ◽  
Yohei Ema ◽  
Kyohei Mukaida
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Production Rate ◽  
Strong Electric Field ◽  
Background Field ◽  
Chiral Anomaly ◽  
Fermion Mass ◽  
Anomaly Equation ◽  
Electric And Magnetic Fields ◽  
Schwinger Effect ◽  
Momentum Transverse

Abstract We point out an enhancement of the pair production rate of charged fermions in a strong electric field in the presence of time dependent classical axion-like background field, which we call axion assisted Schwinger effect. While the standard Schwinger production rate is proportional to $$ \exp \left(-\pi \left({m}^2+{p}_T^2\right)/E\right) $$ exp − π m 2 + p T 2 / E , with m and pT denoting the fermion mass and its momentum transverse to the electric field E, the axion assisted Schwinger effect can be enhanced at large momenta to exp(−πm2/E). The origin of this enhancement is a coupling between the fermion spin and its momentum, induced by the axion velocity. As a non-trivial validation of our result, we show its invariance under field redefinitions associated with a chiral rotation and successfully reproduce the chiral anomaly equation in the presence of helical electric and magnetic fields. We comment on implications of this result for axion cosmology, focussing on axion inflation and axion dark matter detection.

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