Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

The relationship between the macroscopic state of electrons and the properties of chorus waves observed by the Van Allen Probes

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070084· OSTI ID:1345935
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [5]
  1. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Univ. Corp. for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
  2. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
  3. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  4. Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics Lab., Laurel, MD (United States)
  5. Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Plasma kinetic theory predicts that a sufficiently anisotropic electron distribution will excite whistler mode waves, which in turn relax the electron distribution in such a way as to create an upper bound on the relaxed electron anisotropy. Here using whistler mode chorus wave and plasma measurements by Van Allen Probes, we confirm that the electron distributions are well constrained by this instability to a marginally stable state in the whistler mode chorus waves generation region. Lower band chorus waves are organized by the electron β∥e into two distinct groups: (i) relatively large-amplitude, quasi-parallel waves with β∥e ≳0:025 and (ii) relatively small-amplitude, oblique waves with β∥e ≲0:025. The upper band chorus waves also have enhanced amplitudes close to the instability threshold, with large-amplitude waves being quasi-parallel whereas small-amplitude waves being oblique. These results provide important insight for studying the excitation of whistler mode chorus waves.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
NASA; USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1345935
Report Number(s):
LA--UR-16-26171
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 15 Vol. 43; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (27)

Whistler anisotropy instabilities as the source of banded chorus: Van Allen Probes observations and particle-in-cell simulations: FU ET AL. journal October 2014
Wave normal angles of whistler mode chorus rising and falling tones journal December 2014
Empirical model of lower band chorus wave distribution in the outer radiation belt: EMPIRICAL MODEL OF CHORUS WAVES journal December 2015
New chorus wave properties near the equator from Van Allen Probes wave observations journal May 2016
Characteristics of the Poynting flux and wave normal vectors of whistler-mode waves observed on THEMIS: WHISTLER WAVE PROPAGATION PROPERTIES journal April 2013
Science Goals and Overview of the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) Energetic Particle, Composition, and Thermal Plasma (ECT) Suite on NASA’s Van Allen Probes Mission journal October 2013
Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) journal April 2013
Helium, Oxygen, Proton, and Electron (HOPE) Mass Spectrometer for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission journal March 2013
Superposed epoch analysis of a whistler instability criterion at geosynchronous orbit during geomagnetic storms journal November 2008
Singular value decomposition methods for wave propagation analysis: SVD METHODS FOR WAVE PROPAGATION ANALYSIS journal February 2003
Electron anisotropy constraint in the magnetosheath: Cluster observations journal January 2005
Solar wind proton temperature anisotropy: Linear theory and WIND/SWE observations journal January 2006
Energetic electron distributions fitted with a relativistic kappa-type function at geosynchronous orbit: RELATIVISTIC KAPPA-TYPE MODELING journal May 2008
Global distribution of wave amplitudes and wave normal angles of chorus waves using THEMIS wave observations: CHORUS WAVE DISTRIBUTION ON THEMIS journal December 2011
Whistler anisotropy instability with a cold electron component: Linear theory: BRIEF REPORT journal July 2012
Global model of lower band and upper band chorus from multiple satellite observations: GLOBAL MODEL OF WHISTLER MODE CHORUS journal October 2012
Effects of cold electron density on the whistler anisotropy instability: COLD ELECTRON EFFECTS ON WHISTLER journal February 2013
Whistler instability: Electron anisotropy upper bound journal May 1996
A survey of low-energy electrons in the evening sector of the magnetosphere with OGO 1 and OGO 3 journal May 1968
Postmidnight chorus: A substorm phenomenon journal January 1974
The wave normals of magnetospheric chorus emissions observed on board GEOS 2 journal January 1984
Energy spectra of plasma sheet ions and electrons from ∼50 eV/ e to ∼1 MeV during plasma temperature transitions journal January 1988
Path-integrated growth of electrostatic waves: The generation of terrestrial myriametric radiation journal January 1989
Limit on stably trapped particle fluxes journal January 1966
Velocity Space Diffusion from Weak Plasma Turbulence in a Magnetic Field journal January 1966
Whistler anisotropy instability at low electron β: Particle-in-cell simulations journal August 2011
Magnetic Fluctuation Power Near Proton Temperature Anisotropy Instability Thresholds in the Solar Wind journal November 2009

Cited By (15)

Exclusion principle for very oblique and parallel lower band chorus waves: CHORUS WAVE EXCLUSION journal November 2016
Quasilinear analysis of saturation properties of broadband whistler mode waves: BROADBAND WHISTLER MODE WAVES journal August 2017
Variation in Plasmaspheric Hiss Wave Power With Plasma Density journal September 2018
The Composition of Plasma inside Geostationary Orbit Based on Van Allen Probes Observations journal August 2018
Properties of Intense Field-Aligned Lower-Band Chorus Waves: Implications for Nonlinear Wave-Particle Interactions: INTENSE FIELD-ALIGNED CHORUS WAVE-PACKETS journal July 2018
Ultrawideband Rising-Tone Chorus Waves Observed Inside the Oscillating Plasmapause journal August 2018
The Relationship Between EMIC Wave Properties and Proton Distributions Based on Van Allen Probes Observations journal April 2019
Energy Transport by Whistler Waves Around Dipolarizing Flux Bundles journal November 2019
The Effects of Thermal Electrons on Whistler Mode Waves Excited by Anisotropic Hot Electrons: Linear Theory and 2‐D PIC Simulations journal July 2019
The Storm Time Development of Source Electrons and Chorus Wave Activity During CME‐ and CIR‐Driven Storms journal August 2019
Saturation Properties of Whistler Wave Instability in a Plasma With Two Electron Components journal July 2019
Statistical Distribution of Whistler Mode Waves in the Radiation Belts With Large Magnetic Field Amplitudes and Comparison to Large Electric Field Amplitudes journal August 2019
Periodic Excitation of Chorus and ECH Waves Modulated by Ultralow Frequency Compressions journal November 2019
Magnetospheric chorus wave simulation with the TRISTAN-MP PIC code journal July 2019
In Situ Observations of Harmonic Alfvén Waves and Associated Heavy Ion Heating journal May 2018

Similar Records

Whistler anisotropy instabilities as the source of banded chorus: Van Allen Probes observations and particle-in-cell simulations
Journal Article · Wed Oct 22 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics · OSTI ID:1212455
On the parameter dependence of the whistler anisotropy instability
Journal Article · Fri Feb 17 23:00:00 EST 2017 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics · OSTI ID:1466261
Generation of Highly Oblique Lower Band Chorus Via Nonlinear Three-Wave Resonance
Journal Article · Tue Sep 05 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Geophysical Research Letters · OSTI ID:1415428

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
Heliospheric and Magnetospheric Physics