Detection of bump-on-tail reduced electron velocity distributions at the electron foreshock boundary

Technical Report · Wed Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:6623223

Fitzenreiter, R J; Klimas, A J; Scudder, J D

Reduced velocity distributions are derived from three-dimensional measurements of the velocity distribution of electrons in the 7 to 500 eV range in the electron foreshock. Bump-on-tail reduced distributions are presented for the first time at the foreshock boundary consistent with Filbert and Kellogg's proposed time-of-flight mechanism for generating the electron beams. In a significant number of boundary crossings, bump-on-tail reduced distributions were found in consecutive 3 sec measurements made 9 sec apart. It is concluded that, although the beams are linearly unstable to plasma waves according to the Penrose criterion, they persist on a time scale of 3 to 15 sec.

• Research Organization: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, MD (USA). Goddard Space Flight Center
• OSTI ID: 6623223
• Report Number(s): N-84-22518; NASA-TM-86067
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640203* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (-1987)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BEAMS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTRON BEAMS
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
LEPTON BEAMS
LEPTONS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOSPHERE
PARTICLE BEAMS
PLASMA WAVES
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR WIND
VELOCITY