scholarly journals Nonlinear Instability of Ion-Cyclotron Whistlers in the Ionosphere

1987 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 675 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Chakraborty ◽  
AK Sur ◽  
SN Paul

We provide a theoretical investigation on the nonlinear instability of ion-cyclotron whistlers in the ionosphere. The threshold power of the unstable electromagnetic wave, the total attenuation and the generated magnetic field are calculated for a proton whistler. Finally, the variation of different ionospheric parameters due to nonlinear effects in the medium are shown both numerically and graphically. Possible applications of this investigation to space plasmas are also pointed out.

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 983-995 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Sundkvist ◽  
A. Vaivads ◽  
M. André ◽  
J.-E. Wahlund ◽  
Y. Hobara ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a detailed study of waves with frequencies near the proton gyrofrequency in the high-altitude cusp for northward IMF as observed by the Cluster spacecraft. Waves in this regime can be important for energization of ions and electrons and for energy transfer between different plasma populations. These waves are present in the entire cusp with the highest amplitudes being associated with localized regions of downward precipitating ions, most probably originating from the reconnection site at the magnetopause. The Poynting flux carried by these waves is downward/upward at frequencies below/above the proton gyrofrequency, which is consistent with the waves being generated near the local proton gyrofrequency in an extended region along the flux tube. We suggest that the waves can be generated by the precipitating ions that show shell-like distributions. There is no clear polarization of the perpendicular wave components with respect to the background magnetic field, while the waves are polarized in a parallel-perpendicular plane. The coherence length is of the order of one ion-gyroradius in the direction perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field and a few times larger or more in the parallel direction. The perpendicular phase velocity was found to be of the order of 100km/s, an order of magnitude lower than the local Alfvén speed. The perpendicular wavelength is of the order of a few proton gyroradius or less. Based on our multi-spacecraft observations we conclude that the waves cannot be ion-whistlers, while we suggest that the waves can belong to the kinetic Alfvén branch below the proton gyrofrequency fcp and be described as non-potential ion-cyclotron waves (electromagnetic ion-Bernstein waves) above. Linear wave growth calculations using kinetic code show considerable wave growth of non-potential ion cyclotron waves at wavelengths agreeing with observations. Inhomogeneities in the plasma on the order of the ion-gyroradius suggests that inhomogeneous (drift) or nonlinear effects or both of these should be taken into account.


2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 2803-2811 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Cao ◽  
Z. X. Liu ◽  
J. Y. Yang ◽  
C. X. Yian ◽  
Z. G. Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract. LFEW is a low frequency electromagnetic wave detector mounted on TC-2, which can measure the magnetic fluctuation of low frequency electromagnetic waves. The frequency range is 8 Hz to 10 kHz. LFEW comprises a boom-mounted, three-axis search coil magnetometer, a preamplifier and an electronics box that houses a Digital Spectrum Analyzer. LFEW was calibrated at Chambon-la-Forêt in France. The ground calibration results show that the performance of LFEW is similar to that of STAFF on TC-1. The first results of LFEW show that it works normally on board, and that the AC magnetic interference of the satellite platform is very small. In the plasmasphere, LFEW observed the ion cyclotron waves. During the geomagnetic storm on 8 November 2004, LFEW observed a wave burst associated with the oxygen ion cyclotron waves. This observation shows that during geomagnetic storms, the oxygen ions are very active in the inner magnetosphere. Outside the plasmasphere, LFEW observed the chorus on 3 November 2004. LFEW also observed the plasmaspheric hiss and mid-latitude hiss both in the Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere on 8 November 2004. The hiss in the Southern Hemisphere may be the reflected waves of the hiss in the Northern Hemisphere.


2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 012305 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. S. Mikhailenko ◽  
V. V. Mikhailenko ◽  
K. N. Stepanov ◽  
N. A. Azarenkov

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harlan Spence ◽  
Kristopher Klein ◽  
HelioSwarm Science Team

<p>Recently selected for phase A study for NASA’s Heliophysics MidEx Announcement of Opportunity, the HelioSwarm Observatory proposes to transform our understanding of the physics of turbulence in space and astrophysical plasmas by deploying nine spacecraft to measure the local plasma and magnetic field conditions at many points, with separations between the spacecraft spanning MHD and ion scales.  HelioSwarm resolves the transfer and dissipation of turbulent energy in weakly-collisional magnetized plasmas with a novel configuration of spacecraft in the solar wind. These simultaneous multi-point, multi-scale measurements of space plasmas allow us to reach closure on two science goals comprised of six science objectives: (1) reveal how turbulent energy is transferred in the most probable, undisturbed solar wind plasma and distributed as a function of scale and time; (2) reveal how this turbulent cascade of energy varies with the background magnetic field and plasma parameters in more extreme solar wind environments; (3) quantify the transfer of turbulent energy between fields, flows, and ion heat; (4) identify thermodynamic impacts of intermittent structures on ion distributions; (5) determine how solar wind turbulence affects and is affected by large-scale solar wind structures; and (6) determine how strongly driven turbulence differs from that in the undisturbed solar wind. </p>


10.5772/14005 ◽  
2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiyang Liu ◽  
Zhifang Lin ◽  
S. T.

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