Examining Wave Vector and Minimum Cyclotron Resonant Electron Energy of EMIC Waves With Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission
Abstract
Wave number vectors k and minimum cyclotron resonant electron energies Emin of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves are analyzed via the phase differencing technique by using Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission data. It is demonstrated that the phase differencing method provides an estimate of the dominant wave number when finite k spectrum broadenings occur. A case study is conducted for the EMIC event on 20 November 2015, showing remarkable agreements with spectral analysis in wave propagation directions. We find that obtained wave vectors, roughly agreeing with the validity of cold plasma theory, might significantly vary from wave packet to wave packet. Numerical calculations indicate that Emin can range from 0.5 to tens of MeV, suggesting that EMIC waves can effectively interact with those relativistic electrons. This study enriches our understanding of the applicability of phase differencing. It further supports that EMIC waves can be responsible for the loss of electrons with an extremely broad energy range in the magnetosphere.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Oct 07, 2018
- Source ID
- 10.1029/2018gl079737
Entities
People
- Hui Zhu
- Jian Zhang
- Lunjin Chen
- Si Liu
- Zhaoguo He
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Changsha University of Science and Technology
- Harbin Institute of Technology
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- University of Texas at Dallas