ULF wave measurements onboard the Interball auroral probe

The IESP experiment implemented onboard the Interball auroral probe measures the six components (3B, 3E) of the waves in the ULF range: 0.1–10 Hz and from time to time 0–30 Hz. Two different kinds of waves have been observed in the auroral region at altitudes between 10 000 and 20 000 km: (1) electrostatic emissions which consist of quasi-monochromatic structures with frequencies above the oxygen gyrofrequency, superimposed on a wide band signal interpreted as a Doppler broadening, (2) electromagnetic wide band spectrum fluctuations. These emissions are interpreted as current-driven electromagnetic or electrostatic ion cyclotron waves. The electromagnetic/electrostatic character is controlled by the plasma parameter _i and by the O⁺ concentration.     

Imaging and EISCAT radar measurements of an auroral prebreakup event

The results of coordinated EISCAT and TV-camera observations of a prebreakup event on 15 November 1993 have been considered. The variations of the luminosity of two parallel auroral arcs, plasma depletion on the poleward edge of one of these arcs as well as electron and ion temperatures in front of a westward travelling surge were studied. It was found that a shortlived brightening of a weak zenith arc before an auroral breakup was accompanied by fading of an equatorial arc and, vice versa. A plasma depletion in the E region was detected by the EISCAT radar on the poleward edge of the zenith arc just before the auroral breakup. The plasma depletion was associated with an enhancement of ion (at the altitudes of 150–200 km) and electron (in E region) temperatures. During its occurrence, the electric field in the E-region was extremely large (150 mV/m). A significant increase in ion temperature was also observed 1 min before the arrival of a westward travelling surge (WTS) at the radar zenith. This was interpreted as the existence of an extended area of enhanced electric field ahead of the WTS.     

Parallel Electric Field and Electron Acceleration: an Advanced Model

A kinetic theory is necessary to explain the electron flows forming strong field-aligned currents in the auroral region. Its construction in this paper is based on the following propositions. (a) In the equatorial region, the arrival of electrons through the lateral surface of the magnetic flux tube is compensated for by their escape along the magnetic field. This is provided by action of the pitch-angle diffusion mechanism in the presence of plasma turbulence concentrated in this region. (b) Outside the equatorial region, the distribution functions of trapped and precipitating particles become “frozen.” The distributions and particle concentrations are calculated there in a model with conservation of the total energy and the magnetic moment. (c) The quasi-neutrality condition yields a large-scale parallel electric field, which contributes to the conserved total energy. In this field, the electron acceleration occurs, causing strong field-aligned currents directed upward from the ionosphere.     

Transport of thermal plasma above the auroral ionosphere in the presence of electrostatic ion-cyclotron turbulence

The electron component of intensive electric currents flowing along the geomagnetic field lines excites turbulence in the thermal magnetospheric plasma. The protons are then scattered by the excited electromagnetic waves, and as a result the plasma is stable. As the electron and ion temperatures of the background plasma are approximately equal each other, here electrostatic ion-cyclotron (EIC) turbulence is considered. In the nonisothermal plasma the ion-acoustic turbulence may occur additionally. The anomalous resistivity of the plasma causes large-scale differences of the electrostatic potential along the magnetic field lines. The presence of these differences provides heating and acceleration of the thermal and energetic auroral plasma. The investigation of the energy and momentum balance of the plasma and waves in the turbulent region is performed numerically, taking the magnetospheric convection and thermal conductivity of the plasma into account. As shown for the quasi-steady state, EIC turbulence may provide differences of the electric potential of δ V ≈ 1–10 kV at altitudes of 500 < h < 10 000 km above the Earth’s surface. In the turbulent region, the temperatures of the electrons and protons increase only a few times in comparison with the background values.     

New model for auroral acceleration: O-shaped potential structure cooperating with waves

There are recent observational indications (lack of convergent electric field signatures above the auroral oval at 4 R_E altitude) that the U-shaped potential drop model for auroral acceleration is not applicable in all cases. There is nevertheless much observational evidence favouring the U-shaped model at low altitudes, i.e., in the acceleration region and below. To resolve the puzzle we propose that there is a negative O-shaped potential well which is maintained by plasma waves pushing the electrons into the loss cone and up an electron potential energy hill at 3/4R_E altitude range. We present a test particle simulation which shows that when the wave energization is modelled by random parallel boosts, introducing an O-shaped potential increases the precipitating energy flux because the electrons can stay in the resonant velocity range for a longer time if a downward electric field decelerates the electrons at the same time when waves accelerate them in the parallel direction. The lower part of the O-shaped potential well is essentially the same as in the U-shaped model. The electron energization comes from plasma waves in this model, but the final low-altitude fluxes are produced by electrostatic acceleration. Thus, the transfer of energy from waves to particles takes places in an energization region, which is above the acceleration region. In the energization region the static electric field points downward while in the acceleration region it points upward. The model is compatible with the large body of low-altitude observations supporting the U-shaped model while explaining the new observations of the lack of electric field at high altitude.     

等离子体湍流对电子的加速

本文讨论了等离子体湍流对电子加速的两种模型:（1）假定在空间中存在一个空间均匀的等离子体湍流区,当具有一定初始分布的电子束通过此湍流区时,研究湍流场对电子束的加速过程;（2）在某一封闭的区域中,存在着具有一定初始分布和空间均匀的等离子体,当某种类型的等离子体波突然传入此等离子体区,然后考察此区中电子的加速过程。在这两种模型中,可能存在着某种电子消失机制。假定湍谱是幂指数形式,我们给出了不同类型湍流扩散系数的普遍形式。利用较简单的数学方法,求解了包括消失过程的一维准线性动力学方程,对于给定的初始分布,得出了分布函数的解析解,并给出了平均能量时间关系的表达式。另外,对于特定的湍谱指数,解出了当平行电场和湍流同时存在时的分布函数。最后,对所得结果进行了数值分析和讨论。     

Burst regimes of long-period irregular pulsations at frequencies of 2.0–6.0 mHz and substorm activity in the nightside magnetosphere

The results of studying the simultaneous observations of burst regimes of long-period irregular pulsations at frequencies of 2.0–6.0 mHz (the series of ipcl bursts) in the region of the dayside polar cusp and magnetic field disturbances in the nightside auroral oval are presented. The data on the magnetic field at Mirny (MIR, Φ = 76.93°; Λ = 122.92°) and Yellowknife (YKC, Φ = 69.94°; Λ = 294.38°) antipodal observatories as well as the AE index values (http://www.cetp.ipsl.fr/~isgi/homepag1.htm) have been used in an analysis. It has been found out that 87% (group I) and 13% (group II) of events were registered against a back-ground of substorm activity and a quiet nightside magnetosphere, respectively. It has been revealed that several morphological characteristics of the group-I and -II ipcl bursts differ depending on the conditions in the nightside magnetosphere. It has been indicated that the intervals between peaks and the amplitudes of ipcl bursts of both types are distributed according to the exponential and power laws. The results indicate that magnetospheric plasma turbulence develops in the region where burst regimes are formed. It is assumed that the substorm processes in the magnetotail manifest themselves in plasma turbulence in the dayside cusp.     

Signatures of Alfvenic Field-Line Resonance in the Behavior of Preonset Auroral Arcs

The evolution of preonset auroral arcs before full-scale auroral poleward expansion (the time T₀ indicates the expansion onset) is studied based on ground-based optical observations filtered by the gradient method. In one of the three events studied in detail, the preonset arc exhibits periodic poleward excursions ~10 min before T₀. The excursions extend over 1° in latitude, being repeated with a period of 2.5 min (frequency 6.7 mHz), and can be explained by the theory of classical (i.e., linear nondispersive) Alfvénic fieldline resonance (FLR), which is proposed to form and evolve at the location of subsequent substorm initiation. In two other events, the preonset arc evolves somewhat differently. Having appeared 15–20 min before T₀, the arc brightens and develops a fine structure in the transverse direction, with new arcs detaching and propagating away from it. Such signatures may indicate a nonlinear dispersive FLR that periodically produces soliton-like structures propagating across and away from the resonance layer. The involved nonlinearity has a ponderomotive nature. The dispersive effects become significant if, as a result of fine structuring, perturbations are produced on the scales of order of the electron inertial length or ion gyroradius.     

Electromagnetic waves in the auroral and subauroral regions of the topside ionosphere

The density and temperature of the plasma electron component and wave emission intensity in the topside ionosphere were measured by the INTERCOSMOS-19 satellite. In the subauroral ionosphere, a decrease in the plasma density correlates with an increase in the plasma electron component temperature. In this case, the additional increase in the electron component temperature was measured in regions with increased plasma density gradients during the substorm recovery phase. In a linear approximation, the electromagnetic wave growth increments are small on electron fluxes precipitating in the auroral zone. It has been indicated that Bernstein electromagnetic waves propagating in the subauroral topside ionosphere can intensify in regions with increased plasma density gradients on electron fluxes orthogonal to the geomagnetic field, which are formed when plasma is heated by decaying electrostatic oscillations of the plasma electron component. This can be one of the most important factors responsible for the intensification of auroral kilometric radiation.     

ULF/ELF monochromatic oscillations observed by Prognoz-8 and -10 spacecrafts during quasiperpendicular supercritical shock crossings

The present paper analyses electromagnetic turbulence in the frequency range 0.1-75 Hz, associated with the supercritical quasiperpendicular crossings of the Earth’s bow shock recorded by the Prognoz-8 and -10 satellites. The quasimonochromatic waves are identified in the shock transition region. Their frequencies, lying in the range 2–5 Hz upstream from the shock ramp, shift to a value less than 1 Hz in the downstream region. The amplitudes of these narrow emissions are great enough to provide the primary dissipation in the flow of the solar wind plasma. Electromagnetic oscillations with such properties are likely to be generated during non-linear evolution of the shock front, rather than by the instabilities driven by ion and electron drifts. Emissions with frequencies higher than 5 Hz have much smaller amplitudes and may be driven by lower hybrid-like instabilities.     

Features of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pc</Emphasis>5 pulsations in the geomagnetic field,auroral luminosity,and Riometer absorption

Simultaneous morning Pc5 pulsations (f ~ 3–5 mHz) in the geomagnetic field, aurora intensities (in the 557.7 and 630.0 nm oxygen emissions and the 471.0 nm nitrogen emission), and riometer absorption, were studied based on the CARISMA, CANMOS, and NORSTAR network data for the event of January 1, 2000. According to the GOES-8 satellite observations, these Pc5 geomagnetic pulsations are observed as incompressible Alfvén waves with toroidal polarization in the magnetosphere. Although the Pc5 pulsation frequencies in auroras, the geomagnetic field, and riometer absorption are close to one another, stable phase relationships are not observed between them. Far from all trains of geomagnetic Pc5 pulsations are accompanied by corresponding auroral pulsations; consequently, geomagnetic pulsations are primary with respect to auroral pulsations. Both geomagnetic and auroral pulsations propagate poleward, and the frequency decreases with increasing geomagnetic latitude. When auroral Pc5 pulsations appear, the ratio of the 557.7/630.0 nm emission intensity sharply increases, which indicates that auroral pulsations result from not simply modulated particle precipitation but also an additional periodic acceleration of auroral electrons by the wave field. A high correlation is not observed between Pc5 pulsations in auroras and the riometer absorption, which indicates that these pulsations have a common source but different generation mechanisms. Auroral luminosity modulation is supposedly related to the interaction between Alfvén waves and the region with the field-aligned potential drop above the auroral ionosphere, and riometer absorption modulation is caused by the scattering of energetic electrons by VLF noise pulsations.     

The wave-induced boundary layer under long internal waves

The boundary layer formed under the footprint of an internal solitary wave is studied by numerical simulation for waves of depression in a two-layer model of the density stratification. The inviscid outer flow, in the perspective of boundary-layer theory, is based on an exact solution for the long wave-phase speed, yielding a family of fully nonlinear solitary wave solutions of the extended Korteweg–de Vries equation. The wave-induced boundary layer corresponding to this outer flow is then studied by means of simulation employing the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) formulation coupled with a turbulence closure model validated for wall-bounded flows. Boundary-layer characteristics are computed for an extensive range of environmental conditions and wave amplitudes. Boundary-layer transition, identified by monitoring the eddy viscosity, is correlated in terms of a boundary-layer Reynolds number. The frictional drag is evaluated for laminar, transitional, and turbulent cases, and correlations are presented for the friction coefficient plus relevant measures of the boundary-layer thickness.     

大功率高频电波加热电离层中参量衰减不稳定性研究(1):数值模拟

参量衰减不稳定性(Parametric Decay Instability,PDI)在大功率高频(High frequency,HF)电波与电离层等离子体相互作用的过程中扮演着十分重要的角色,本文采用广义Zakharov方法对常规的等离子体流体力学方程组进行相应处理后,并在近似实际的电离层背景和电波传播模型下,构建了高频电波加热电离层激发PDI的数值计算模型.模拟结果发现:在毫秒量级的时间尺度上,大功率高频电波在寻常波(Ordinary wave,O波)反射点高度附近激发出了朗缪尔波(Langmuir wave)和离子声波(Ion-Acoustic wave)两种等离子体静电波模,模拟中产生的朗缪尔波和离子声波相应波数为5~11rad·m~(-1),结果与利用色散关系求出的理论值4~7 rad·m~(-1)近似一致,密度扰动幅值从10~6m~(-3)量级指数级增长到了10~(10)m~(-3)量级,直至能显著影响与"低频"密度背景相关的等离子体频率后,出现了等离子体"空穴"结构以及朗缪尔波被"俘获"现象,在扰动空间内的小尺度静电场幅值最高能达到100 V·m~(-1)量级,最终造成一种强烈的局地化"空穴"湍流现象.本文的研究有助于深入理解PDI的物理机制,对研究大功率高频电波与电离层等离子体之间复杂的非线性相互作用也有着非常重要的意义.     

Excitation of ion-acoustic waves in the high-latitude ionosphere

The broadband electrostatic turbulence generally observed in the high-latitude ionosphere is a superposition of nonlocal waves of ion-acoustic and ion-cyclotron types. In the presence of a shear of ion parallel velocity, ion-acoustic modes can be induced by an instability emerging due to an inhomogeneous distribution of energy density. This paper is devoted to the studies of excitation of oblique ion-acoustic wave in background configurations with inhomogeneous profiles of both electric field and ion parallel velocity. A numerical algorithm has been developed, and instability was simulated at various parameters of background plasma. The general possibility of oblique ion-acoustic wave generation by a gradient of ion parallel velocity is shown. In this case, the wave spectrum is found to be broadband, which agrees with satellite observations.     

Position of projections of the nightside auroral oval equatorward and poleward edges in the magnetosphere equatorial plane

The position of the auroral oval poleward and equatorward boundary projections on the equatorial plane in the nightside MLT sector during magnetically quiet periods (|AL| < 200 nT, |Dst| < 10 nT) has been determined. The oval boundary positions were determined according to the precipitation model developed at Polar Geophysical Institute (http://apm.pgia.ru/). The isotropy of the averaged plasma pressure and the experimentally confirmed balance of pressures during the nighttime have been taken into account. The morphological mapping method has been used to map the oval poleward and equatorward edges without the use of any magnetic field model on the assumption that the condition of magnetostatic equilibrium is valid. Ion pressures at ionospheric altitudes and in the equatorial plane have been compared. It has been shown that the auroral oval equatorward boundary in the midnight sector is localized at geocentric distances of ~7 R_E, which is in good agreement with the position of the energetic particle injection boundary in the equatorial plane. The oval poleward edge is localized at the ~10 R_E geocentric distance, which is in good agreement with the position of the equatorward boundary of the region with a high turbulence level in the Earth’s magnetosphere plasma sheet.     

Alfven行波涌浪携带的场向电场──极光粒子加速机制

提出一个剪切Ａｌｆｖｅｎ波加速极光粒子的新模式。频率远小于离子回旋频率的Ａｌｆｖｅｎ波由磁层向电离层传播会演化成孤波，当场向电流超过离子声不稳定性的临界电流时，激发离子声不稳定性，波与粒子的相互作用产生反常阻尼使Ａｌｆｖｅｎ波演化成行波涌浪。它携带一个方向向上的平行电场，加速极光电子形成分立极光。对等离子体密度、电场及其对应的电势进行了数值计算，结果发现满足磁层加速区条件形成Ａｌｆｖｎ行波涌浪，提供足够强的加速粒子的电场。     

Relationships between field-aligned currents and convection observed by EISCAT and implications concerning the mechanism that produces region-2 currents: Statistical study

Fluid theories explain the origin of region-2 field-aligned currents as the closure of the ring current, driven itself by the azimuthal pressure gradients generated in the magnetospheric ring plasma by the sunward convection. Although the structure of pressure gradients appears experimentally complex, observations confirm that a close connection exists between the region-2 field-aligned currents and the ring current. The fluid linear theory of the adiabatic transport by convection of the ring plasma gives a first estimate of this process, and leads ultimately to phase quadrature (in terms of magnetic local time) between the region-2 field-aligned currents and the convection potential. When significant non-adiabatic processes are taken into account, such as precipitations at auroral latitudes, the theoretical phase difference rotates toward opposition. We determine experimentally the phase relationship between the region-2 field-aligned currents and the convection potential from recent statistics, depending on the magnetic activity index K_p, and performed from the EISCAT data base. For geometrical reasons of sufficient probing of region 2, it is only computed in the case of a moderate magnetic activity corresponding to 2\leqK_p<4. Region-2 field-aligned currents are found to be in phase opposition with the convection electrostatic potential at auroral latitudes. This confirms the importance of non adiabatic processes, especially ion losses, in the generation of region-2 field-aligned currents, as theoretically suggested.     

Particle energy fluxes in an unstable plasma with vortex structures in an inhomogeneous geomagnetic field in the topside ionosphere

Plasma inhomogeneities extending along geomagnetic field lines in the ionosphere and magnetosphere can have a vortex structure. Electromagnetic waves can propagate in plasma inhomogeneities in the waveguide channel mode. It has been indicated that energy and particle fluxes related to the development of small-scale electrostatic turbulence in a magnetized plasma with an unstable electron component promotes an increase in plasma density gradients in the walls of waveguide channels and an enhancement in plasma vortices. At low L shells in the region of the geomagnetic equator, the development of plasma electrostatic instability and the damping of drifting plasma vortices in the inhomogeneous geomagnetic field in the topside ionosphere can be the main mechanism by which large-scale (∼1000 km) regions with a decreased plasma density are formed.     

高能离子束流引起低频电磁波动的特性

理论和数值模拟研究了日冕区高速低密离子束流与等离子体相互作用产生的低频电磁波动特征. 结果表明,在线性阶段,系统波动主要表现为短波长的非共振模的激发;在非线性阶段,长波模占优,短波长波逐渐衰减,此时系统波动表现为具有Alfvén波动特征,波的能谱为双幂律谱. 这些结果可用来解释太阳风中的Alfvén湍动现象.     

Ponderomotive Force of Ion Cyclotron Waves in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pc</Emphasis>1 Frequency Range with Magnetosonic Dispersion

Nonlinear properties of the Pc1 geomagnetic pulsations with anomalous (magnetosonic) dynamic spectrum are studied. The nonlinear properties of the waves are reflected in the emergence of ponderomotive force proportional to the squared amplitude of the waves. Just as in the case of the Alfven waves, at small values of parameter ν₀ = ω/ω_ci0 < 0.4 (ratio of the carrier frequency to proton gyrofrequency in the equatorial plane), the ponderomotive force leads to the modification of the background plasma through increasing its density towards the equator. At ν₀ > 0.4, plasma is expelled from the equator towards the higher latitudes. The dependence of the nonlinear modification of background plasma for the different parameters of the magnetosphere is studied.