Study of the relationship between diffuse auroral and plasma-sheet electron distributions

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6144620

Schumaker, T L

This thesis deals with the relationship between the diffuse auroral and plasma sheet electron distributions in the midnight region (+/- 2 hrs MLT) of the earth's magnetosphere. Past studies have suggested that electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) waves in resonance are responsible for the pitch-angle diffusion of low-energy plasma-sheet electrons into the atmospheric loss cone and the resulting precipitation into the diffuse auroral ionosphere. However, the adequacy of ECH waves as the principal diffusion mechanism is currently in controversy and is tested empirically in this study. The data base used consisted of low-energy (50 eV to 25 keV) differential electron-flux measurements from the low altitude polar-orbit in P78-1 satellite and the near-geosynchronous SCATHA satellite taken when the two spinning satellites were in conjunction, i.e., located at points along the same geomagnetic field line. The P78-1 measurements provided electron pitch-angle distribution information within the loss cone during the conjunction events.

• Research Organization: Boston Univ., MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6144620
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
AURORAE
ELECTRON SPECTRA
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
PLASMA SHEET
ELECTRON PLASMA WAVES
ELECTRON PRECIPITATION
INCLINATION
LOSS CONE
CHARGED-PARTICLE PRECIPITATION
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
PLASMA WAVES
SPECTRA
640201* - Atmospheric Physics- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena