Electrostatic Bursts Generated by Electrons in Landau Resonance with Whistler Mode Chorus.

Abstract

The electrostatic bursts analyzed in this paper have a frequency much greater than that of the chorus. The frequency is usually somewhat lower than the electron plasma frequency and is normally in the range from about 3 kHz up to kHz. As will be shown, the electrostatic bursts are longitudinal electrostatic waves with wave vectors aligned almost exactly along the ambient magnetic field. In some cases, the amplitude of the electrostatic bursts is shown to have a modulation at the chorus frequency. This modulation is indicative of a strong physical interaction between these two wave modes. This paper details the investigation of this interaction and provides strong evidence that the electrons responsible for the electrostatic bursts are trapped and accelerated by a Landau resonance interaction with the chorus wave. The primary data used in this work was obtained from the ISEE 1 and ISEE 2 (International Sun-Earth Explorer) spacecraft, which were launched into Earth orbit simultaneously on October 22, 1977. A description of the spacecraft orbital parameters is contained in Anderson et al. (1981). The plasma wave data used was obtained from the University of Iowa Plasma Wave Experiment, and the instrumentation is described in detail by Gurnett et al. (1978).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1982
Accession Number
ADA121615

Entities

People

  • Donald A. Gurnett
  • Lee A. Reinleitner
  • Timothy E. Eastman

Organizations

  • University of Iowa

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Analyzers
  • Automatic Gain Control
  • Bandwidth
  • Cyclotron Resonance
  • Detectors
  • Electric Fields
  • Electron Beams
  • Electrons
  • Frequency Bands
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Military Research
  • Particle Physics
  • Plasma Waves
  • Refractive Index
  • Spacecraft
  • Spectrum Analyzers
  • Waveforms

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Space