Cyclotron maser emission: Stars, planets, and laboratory

Journal Article · Sun May 15 04:00:00 EDT 2011 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3567420· OSTI ID:21537898

Vorgul, I; Cairns, R A ^[1]; Kellett, B J ^[2]; Bingham, R ^[2]; Ronald, K; Speirs, D C; McConville, S L; Gillespie, K M; Phelps, A D. R. ^[3]

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1. School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, KY16 9SS (United Kingdom)
2. STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot OX11 0QX (United Kingdom)
3. SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG (United Kingdom)

This paper is a review of results by the group over the past decade on auroral kilometric radiation and similar cyclotron emissions from stars and planets. These emissions are often attributed to a horseshoe or crescent shaped momentum distribution of energetic electrons moving into the convergent magnetic field which exists around polar regions of dipole-type stars and planets. We have established a laboratory-based facility that has verified many of the details of our original theoretical description and agrees well with numerical simulations. The experiment has demonstrated that the horseshoe distribution does indeed produce cyclotron emission at a frequency just below the local cyclotron frequency, with polarization close to X-mode and propagating nearly perpendicularly to the beam motion. We discuss recent developments in the theory and simulation of the instability including addressing a radiation escape problem and the effect of competing instabilities, relating these to the laboratory, space, and astrophysical observations.

• OSTI ID: 21537898
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 18; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
AMPLIFIERS
ATMOSPHERES
CRYOSPHERE
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EMISSION
EQUIPMENT
FERMIONS
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
INSTABILITY
LEPTONS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MASERS
MECHANICS
MICROWAVE AMPLIFIERS
MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
PLANETS
PLASMA
PLASMA INSTABILITY
PLASMA SIMULATION
POLAR REGIONS
SIMULATION
STARS
STELLAR ATMOSPHERES
TAIL ELECTRONS