Roles of hot electrons in generating upper-hybrid waves in the earth's radiation belt

J. Hwang; D. K. Shin; P. H. Yoon; W. S. Kurth; B. A. Larsen; G. D. Reeves; D. Y. Lee

doi:10.1063/1.4984249

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Roles of hot electrons in generating upper-hybrid waves in the earth's radiation belt

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Roles of hot electrons in generating upper-hybrid waves in the earth's radiation belt

J. Hwang, D. K. Shin, P. H. Yoon, W. S. Kurth, B. A. Larsen, G. D. Reeves and D. Y. Lee

Physics of plasmas, Vol.24(6), 062904

06/01/2017

DOI: 10.1063/1.4984249

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Abstract

Electrostatic fluctuations near upper-hybrid frequency, which are sometimes accompanied by multiple-harmonic electron cyclotron frequency bands above and below the upper-hybrid frequency, are common occurrences in the Earth's radiation belt, as revealed through the twin Van Allen Probe spacecrafts. It is customary to use the upper-hybrid emissions for estimating the background electron density, which in turn can be used to determine the plasmapause locations, but the role of hot electrons in generating such fluctuations has not been discussed in detail. The present paper carries out detailed analyses of data from the Waves instrument, which is part of the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science suite onboard the Van Allen Probes. Combined with the theoretical calculation, it is shown that the peak intensity associated with the upper-hybrid fluctuations might be predominantly determined by tenuous but hot electrons and that denser cold background electrons do not seem to contribute much to the peak intensity. This finding shows that upper-hybrid fluctuations detected during quiet time are not only useful for the determination of the background cold electron density but also contain information on the ambient hot electrons population as well. Published by AIP Publishing.

Physical Sciences

Physics

Physics, Fluids & Plasmas

Science & Technology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Roles of hot electrons in generating upper-hybrid waves in the earth's radiation belt
Creators: J. Hwang - Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
D. K. Shin - Chungbuk Natl Univ, Dept Astron & Space Sci, Cheongju, South Korea
P. H. Yoon - University of Maryland, College Park
W. S. Kurth - University of Iowa
B. A. Larsen - Los Alamos National Laboratory
G. D. Reeves - Los Alamos National Laboratory
D. Y. Lee - Chungbuk National University
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Physics of plasmas, Vol.24(6), 062904
DOI: 10.1063/1.4984249
ISSN: 1070-664X
eISSN: 1089-7674
Publisher: AIP Publishing
Number of pages: 11
Grant note: KASI Applied Physics Laboratory AGS1550566 / NSF; National Science Foundation (NSF) GFT, Inc. 131802 / NASA; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) 1550566 / Div Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Directorate for Geosciences (GEO)
Language: English
Date published: 06/01/2017
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9984455549902771

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