Observations of a new class of upstream waves with periods near 3 seconds

Journal Article · Sun Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/91JA02707· OSTI ID:5556818

Le, G; Russell, C T ^[1]; Thomsen, M F; Gosling, J T ^[2]

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1. Univ. of California, Los Angeles (United States)
2. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)

The authors found a new class of ULF waves with periods near 3 s in the Earth's upstream region by examining the high time resolution magnetic field data from the ISEE spacecraft. These waves are observed in the part of the upstream region which is magnetically connected to the bow shock, but only when the solar wind plasma beta is high (greater than 1). The waves are always right-handed, nearly circularly polarized in the spacecraft frame. The directions of the wave vectors are in the general direction of the average magnetic field, and the waves are convected downstream in the spacecraft frame. The study of these waves has shown that they appear to be intrinsically left-handed ion cyclotron waves in the plasma rest frame.

• OSTI ID: 5556818
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States) Vol. 97:A3; ISSN 0148-0227; ISSN JGREA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

661320* -- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CHARGED PARTICLES
CORRELATIONS
CYCLOTRON FREQUENCY
DISPERSION RELATIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EXPLORER SATELLITES
FERMIONS
INTERACTIONS
ION WAVES
IONS
LEPTONS
PLASMA WAVES
POLARIZATION
REFLECTION
SATELLITES
SHOCK WAVES
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR WIND
WAVE PACKETS