The relationship of auroral absorption to the electron energy distribution of the plasma

An auroral absorption event in the D-region of the atmosphere has been studied by simultaneous measurements of electron temperature, electron density and hyperthermal electrons with a Langmuir probe, and of radio absorption coefficient by 30 MHz riometers. The absorption of the radio waves cannot be explained only by the enhancement of the electron density but requires that the electron collision frequency v be increased above its normal value by the presence of a high energy tail in the electron distribution function. A model is used to determine the characteristics of the hyperthermal electrons in order to evaluate their contribution to the collision frequency and to the absorption coefficient. Good agreement is found between theoretical and experimental values.     

Measurement of electron density in low density plasmas from the electron accelerating region characteristics of cylindrical Langmuir probes

Measurements carried out using a cylindrical Langmuir probe operated in the electron accelerating region of the current-voltage characteristics under orbital limited conditions in low density plasmas, show the response of the probe to be in good agreement with Langmuir theory. By making observations in three different plasmas, namely a steady state plasma, an afterglow plasma and the ionospheric plasma it is confirmed that the form of the orbital limited characteristics of the probe is independent of the energy distribution of the electrons in the plasma. Comparative measurements of ionospheric electron densities made between a rocket borne cylindrical probe and a ground based ionosonde show good agreement to exist and thus demonstrate that the probe operated in this mode not only overcomes the significant problems associated with retarding region probe measurements but affords an accurate determination of electron density. This underlines the usefulness of this kind of probe for electron density measurements in plasmas where the energy distribution of the electrons is unknown.     

Evidences of a distorted electron energy distribution in ionospheric plasma

The energy distribution of thermal electrons in the ionospheric plasma was measured by means of a glass-sealed Langmuir probe. Second derivatives of the v-i curves were obtained electrically by using the second harmonic method. The height of the measurement was from 103 to 360 km.Above 130 km the energy distribution of thermal electrons were Maxwellian enough to evaluate electron temperature. Below 130 km the electrons appeared to consist of two groups of electrons of different temperatures. Because of the bi-Maxwellian energy distribution, the apparent electron temperature obtained from the above method differed from that of an electron temperature probe.     

Observed heating effects of conjugate photoelectrons

A gridded spherical electrostatic analyzer aboard Injun 5 has been used to measure fluxes of thermal and hyperthermal electrons at subauroral latitudes in the midnight sector of the northern ionosphere between altitudes of 2500 and 850 km. Due to the offset between the geomagnetic and geographic poles hyperthermal fluxes, consisting of energetic photoelectrons that have escaped from the sunlit southern hemisphere are observed along orbits over the Atlantic Ocean and North America but not over Asia. The ambient electron temperatures (T_e) near 2500 km have their highest values at trough latitudes for all longitudes. At altitudes near 1000 km elevated electron temperatures in the trough were not a consistent feature of the data. Equatorward of the trough, in the longitude sector to which conjugate photoelectrons have access, T_e ～ 4000 K at 2500 km and ～ 3000 K at 1000 km. For regions with the conjugate point in darkness T_e ? 2300 K over the 1000–2500 km altitude range. The effective thermal characteristics of conjugate photoelectrons are studied as functions of altitude and latitude. The observations indicate that (1) at trough latitudes elevated electron temperatures in the topside ionosphere are mostly produced by sources other than conjugate photoelectrons, and (2) at subtrough latitudes, in the Alantic Ocean-North American longitude sector, conjugate photoelectrons contribute significantly to the heating of topside electrons. Much of the conjugate photoelectron energy is deposited at altitudes >2500 km then conducted along magnetic field lines into the ionosphere.     

Dynamics of a cloud of fast electrons travelling through the plasma

Numerical analysis has been carried out on the one-dimensional quasi-linear relaxation of a group of fast electrons travelling through the plasma. It is demonstrated that the electron velocity distribution of fast electrons tends to be a plateau form exciting the electron plasma waves and that the plasma waves are almost completely reabsorbed later by electrons arriving later. Both the velocity range and time interval in which quasi-plateau distribution is formed increase with distance from the origin of the fast electrons. There is no net energy loss of the electron cloud during the travel through the plasma if we neglect both the collisional losses and the scattering of plasma waves. Although the present computation is preliminary and limited to rather low beam density, we can see that the characteristics of both the electron beam and the plasma waves tend, with distance, to those of the analytical solution given by Ryutov and Sagdeev; though a modification to set a low velocity cutoff on the plasma waves due to the thermal electrons is necessary.     

The penetration of soft electrons into the ionosphere

Calculations are presented of energy spectra and angular and spatial distributions of electron fluxes in the ionosphere resulting from precipitation ofmonoenergetic (E = 25, 50 and 100 eV) electrons. The incident electrons are assumed to be isotropic over the downward direction. It is found that the resulting steady-state electron fluxes above ca. 300 km are highly anisotropic, and that the pitch angle distribution is energy dependent. About 15 per cent of the incident electrons are backscattered elastically to the protonosphere. A much larger number of electrons escape after they have deposited a part of their energy in the atmosphere. The mean energy of the escaping electrons is about half that of the incident electrons. About 50% of the incident energy is absorbed in the atmosphere, the remainder being returned to the protonosphere. The rate of absorption of energy is a maximum at heights between 300 and 400 km. Most of the energy is absorbed in ionization and excitation of atomic oxygen. An appreciable amount of energy is, however, absorbed as heat by the ambient electron gas. Altitude profiles are presented of the rates of ionization, excitation, and electron heating caused by soft electron precipitation.     

Comparisons of solar flare X-ray producing and escaping electrons from ∼ 2 TO 100 keV

Using observations from the ISEE-3 spacecraft, we compare the X-ray producing electrons and escaping electrons from a solar flare on 8 November, 1978. The instantaneous 5 to 75 keV electron spectrum in the X-ray producing region is computed from the observed bremsstrahlung X-ray spectrum. Assuming that energy loss by Coulomb collisions (thick target) is the dominant electron loss process, the accelerated electron spectrum is obtained. The energy spectrum of the escaping electrons observed from 2 to 100 keV differs significantly from the spectra of the X-ray producing electrons and of the accelerated electrons, even when the energy loss which the escaping electrons experienced during their travel from the Sun to the Earth is taken into account. The observations are consistent with a model where the escaping electrons come from an extended X-ray producing region which ranges from the chromosphere to high in the corona. In this model the low energy escaping electrons (2–10 keV) come from the higher part of the extended X-ray source where the overlying column density is low, while the high energy electrons (20–100 keV) come from the entire X-ray source.     

Dust acoustic soliton energy in a mixed nonthermal high energy-tail electron distribution

Weak dust acoustic (DA) solitary waves are investigated in a mixed nonthermal high energy-tail electron distribution, focusing on the influence of an interplay between nonthermality and superthermality on the DA soliton energy. It is shown that in a pure superthermal plasma (α=0), electron thermalization (κ→∞) leads to an increase of the energy carried by the soliton. Addition of minute quantities of nonthermal electrons drastically modifies the κ-dependence of the soliton energy E _κ,α . The latter first decreases, then exhibits a local minimum before leveling at a constant value. The energy exchange between the non-Maxwellian electrons and the localized solitary structure depends drastically on the interplay between superthermality and nonthermality.     

Influence of the Variations of Current Sheet Parameters on the Acceleration of Electrons

By the test particle method, we have investigated the kinematic characteristics of the electrons in the reconnecting current sheet with a guiding magnetic field B_z after they are accelerated by the supper-Dreicer electric field E_z. Firstly, the influence of the guiding magnetic field B_z on the particle acceleration is discussed under the assumption that B_z is constant in magnitude but different in orientation with respect to the electric field. In this case, the variation of the B_z direction directly leads to the variation of electron trajectories and makes electrons leave the current sheet along different paths. If B_z is parallel to E_z, the pitch angles of the accelerated electrons are close to 180°. If B_z is anti-parallel to E_z, the pitch angles of the accelerated electrons are close to 0°. The orientation of the guiding magnetic field just makes the electric field accelerate selectively the electrons in different regions, but does not change the energy distribution of electrons, and the finally derived energy spectrum is the common power-law spectrum E^?γ. In typical coronal conditions, γ is about 2.9. The further study indicates that the magnitude of γ depends on the strengths of the guiding magnetic field and reconnecting electric field, as well as the scale of the current sheet. Then, the kinematic characteristics of the accelerated electrons in the current sheet with multiple X-points and O-points are also studied. The result indicates that the existences of the X-points and O-points have the particles constrained in the accelerating region to obtain the maximum acceleration, and the final energy spectrum has the characteristics of multi-power law spectra.     

Synthetic Spectra of the Fe VIII – Fe XVI Emission Lines for Electron Non-Thermal Distributions

A certain class of non-thermal electron distributions can exhibit more mono-energetic shape and a higher peak than the Maxwellian distribution. This type of electron distribution can be observed mainly in flaring plasmas. We have studied the influence of this kind of electron energy distribution on the excitation equilibrium of Fe VIII – Fe XVI in the solar corona. The changes in synthetic spectra of the emission lines belonging to these ions due to this non-thermal distribution are shown. The possibilities of finding the shape of the energy distribution function of electrons from the Fe line ratios are also discussed. The results can be used for diagnostics of coronal plasmas where the deviations of particle energy distributions from the Maxwellian one can be significant.     

Rocket observations of the interaction of auroral electrons with the atmosphere

Electron spectra obtained during the flight of Black Brant VB-31 on August 17, 1970 through a stable aurora to a height of 268 km have been analyzed in detail to obtain the pitch angle distributions from 25 to 155° and the electron energy distributions over an energy range of 18 keV to 20 eV through the region of atmospheric interaction down to 97 km. Backscatter ratios for 140° pitch angle range from 0.065 for 18 keV electrons to 0.22 for 1 keV electrons. Backscatter of lower energy electrons decreases with atmospheric depth below 200 km. The effect of the interactions between auroral electrons and the atmosphere is such as to give a peak in electron flux which moves progressively to higher energies with penetration depth. The secondary electron flux increases monotonically with height up to 200 km. The secondary electron spectrum can be approximated by an energy power over small energy ranges but its form is somewhat dependent on height and on the primary electron spectrum.     

Acceleration of Electrons and Protons in Reconnecting Current Sheets Including Single or Multiple X-points

Kinematic characteristics of electrons and protons in the magnetic reconnecting current sheet in the presence of a guide field are investigated. Particle trajectories are calculated for different values of the guide field by a test-particle calculation. The relationship between the final energy and the initial position has also been studied. We found that the addition of a guide field not only allows particles to get more energy and not only results in the separation of electrons and protons, but also causes the reconnecting electric field to selectively accelerate electrons and protons for different initial positions. The energy spectrum eventually obtained is the common power-law spectrum, and as the guide field increases, the index for the spectrum of electrons decreases rapidly. However, for a weak background magnetic field, proton spectra are not very sensitive to the guide field; but for a strong background field, the dependence of the spectrum index is similar to the electron spectrum. Meanwhile, kinematic characteristics of the accelerated particles in the current sheet including multiple X-points and O-points were also investigated. The result indicates that the existence of the multiple X- and O-points helps particles trapped in the accelerating region to gain more energy, and yields the double or multiple power-law feature.     

A high resolution,low energy electrostatic analyser for rocket payloads

The scientific constraints on the measurement of suprathermal electron fluxes in the 1–500 eV energy range in the auroral zone are discussed. These constraints are used to define the characteristics of an electrostatic analyser to measure such fluxes. The design and calibration of such an instrument are described.The application of the instrument to measure details of atmospheric absorption of low energy electrons by utilizing its high energy resolution, and the application to measure detailed variations of spectrum and pitch angle distribution by utilizing its high sensitivity are discussed with reference to a number of rocket flights made from the northern auroral zone.     

Multiple compton scattering of electrons in a photon field

Consideration is given to the motion of electrons in a photon field of the monoenergetic or power-law spectrum under the conditions when the main mechanism of energy loss is the inverse Compton scattering by field photons. This process changes the primary spectrum of electrons and converts low-energy field photons to high-energy gamma-quanta for which the electron confinement region is assumed to be optically thin. The electron and gamma-ray spectra have been obtained in a wide energy interval including the Klein-Nishina and Thomson regions. A simple qualitative dependence of the solutions found on the field parameters and the primary spectrum of electrons has been established.The electron and gamma-ray spectra have been obtained by numerically solving the kinetic equation dependent on two variables: the energy of electrons and their path (or the time of motion) in a photon field. The results dramatically differ from the solution of the steady-state kinetic equation which depends only on the electron energy and is frequently used in the given problem.     

Electrostatic envelope excitations under transverse perturbations in a plasma with nonextensive hot electrons

Nonlinear dynamics of electron acoustic waves (EAWs) in a plasma consisting of stationary ions, cool inertial electrons and hot electrons having a nonextensive distribution is studied. Under transverse perturbations, the nonlinear wave can be described by the general form of the Davey-Stewartson (DS) equations. The reductive perturbation technique is employed to derive Davey-Stewartson equations. From the solutions of these equations, amplitude modulation properties and stability regions of EAWs are studied in two-dimensional plasma. Further, the influence of nonextensivity of hot electrons (via q) on the characteristics of EAWs has been analysed.     

Electron Spikes,Type III Radio Bursts and EUV Jets on 22 February 2010

The Solar Electron Proton Telescope on board the twin STEREO spacecraft measures electrons and ions in the energy range from 30 to above 400 keV with an energy resolution better than 10%. On 22 February 2010 during a short interval of 100 minutes, a sequence of impulsive energetic electron events in the range below 120 keV was observed with the STEREO-A/SEPT instrument. Each of the four events was associated with a type III radio burst and a narrow EUV jet. All the events show nearly symmetric “spike”-like time profiles with very short durations ≃ 5 min. The estimated electron injection time for each individual event shows a small time delay between the electron spike and the corresponding type III radio emission and a close coincidence with an EUV jet. These observations reveal the existence of spike-like electron events showing nearly “scatter-free” propagation from the Sun to STEREO-A. From the time coincidence we infer that the mildly relativistic electrons are accelerated at the same time and at the same location as the accompanying type III emitting electrons and coronal EUV jets. The characteristics of the spikes reflect the injection and acceleration profiles in the corona rather than interplanetary propagation effects.     

Relativistic electrons from solar flares

Observations of interplanetary relativistic electrons from several solar-flare events monitored through 1964 to mid-1967 are presented. These are the first direct spectral measurements and time histories, made outside the magnetosphere, of solar-flare electrons having relativistic velocities. The 3- to 12-MeV electrons detected have kinetic energies about two orders of magnitude higher than those solar electrons previously studied in space, and measurements of both the time histories and energy spectra for a number of events in the present solar cycle were carried out. These measurements of interplanetary electrons are also directly compared with solar X-ray data and with measurements of related interplanetary solar protons.The time histories of at least four electron events show fits to the typical diffusion picture. A demonstrated similarity between the electron and the medium-energy proton fits for the event of 7 July, in particular, indicates that at these electron energies, but over several orders of magnitude of rigidity, whatever diffusion does take place is very nearly on a velocity, rather than a rigidity or an energy, basis. Diffusion-fit time histories varied as a function of T ₀ also indicate that the electrons in certain flare events originate at times near the X-ray and microwave burst, establishing their likely identity as the same electrons which cause the impulsive radiations. Also, the energy spectra and total numbers of the interplanetary electrons, compared with those of the flare-site electrons calculated from X-ray and microwave measurements, indicate that probably a small fraction of flare electrons escape into interplanetary space.     

Solar Impulsive Hard X-Ray Emission and Two-Stage Electron Acceleration

Heating and acceleration of electrons in solar impulsive hard X-ray (HXR) flares are studied according to the two-stage acceleration model developed by Zhang for solar 3He-rich events. It is shown that electrostatic H-cyclotron waves can be excited at a parallel phase velocity less than about the electron thermal velocity and thus can significantly heat the electrons (up to 40 MK) through Landau resonance. The preheated electrons with velocities above a threshold are further accelerated to high energies in the flare-acceleration process. The flare-produced electron spectrum is obtained and shown to be thermal at low energies and power law at high energies. In the non-thermal energy range, the spectrum can be double power law if the spectral power index is energy dependent or related. The electron energy spectrum obtained by this study agrees quantitatively with the result derived from the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) HXR observations in the flare of 2002 July 23. The total flux and energy flux of electrons accelerated in the solar flare also agree with the measurements.     

Fast solar electrons,interplanetary plasma and km-wave type-III radio bursts observed from the IMP-6 spacecraft

IMP-6 spacecraft observations of low frequency radio emission, fast electrons, and solar wind plasma are used to examine the dynamics of the fast electron streams which generate solar type-III radio bursts. Of twenty solar electron events observed between April, 1971 and August, 1972, four were found to be amenable to detailed analysis. Observations of the direction of arrival of the radio emission at different frequencies were combined with the solar wind density and velocity measurements at 1 AU to define an Archimedean spiral trajectory for the radio burst exciter. The propagation characteristics of the exciter and of the fast electrons observed at 1 AU were then conpared. We find that: (1) the fast electrons excite the radio emission at the second harmonic; (2) the total distance travelled by the electrons was between 30 and 70% longer than the length of the smooth spiral defined by the radio observations; (3) this additional distance travelled is the result of scattering of the electrons in the interplanetary medium; (4) the observations are consistent with negligible true energy loss by the fast electrons.     

The emission and propagation of ∼ 40keV solar flare electrons

Observations of prompt 40 keV solar flare electron events by the IMP series of satellites in the period August, 1966 to December, 1967 are tabulated along with prompt energetic solar proton events in the period 1964–1967. The interrelationship of the various types of energetic particle emission by the sun, including relativistic energy electrons reported by Cline and McDonald (1968) are investigated. Relativistic energy electron emission is found to occur only during proton events. The solar optical, radio and X-ray emission associated with these various energetic particle emissions as well as the propagation characteristics of each particle species are examined in order to study the particle acceleration and emission mechanisms in a solar flare. Evidence is presented for two separate particle acceleration and/or emission mechanisms, one of which produces 40 keV electrons and the other of which produces solar proton and possibly relativistic energy electrons. It is found that solar flares can be divided into three categories depending on their energetic particle emission: (1) small flares with no accompanying energetic phenomena either in particles, radio or X-ray emission; (2) small flares which produce low energy electrons and which are accompanied by type III and microwave radio bursts and energetic ( 20 keV) X-ray bursts; and (3) major solar flare eruptions characterized by energetic solar proton production and type II and IV radio bursts and accompanied by intense microwave and X-ray emission and relativistic energy electrons.