Resolute Bay, Nunavut Auroral Radio Emission Sources: Possible Sources of Radar Backscatter? James LaBelle Department of Physics and Astronomy Dartmouth College SuperDARN workshop Hanover, New Hampshire May 31, 2011
3f ce Emission (4-4.5 MHz) 2f ce Emission (near 3 MHz) 02/18/1995 Arviat, Nunavut Universal Time Frequency (kHz) AURORAL MF-BURST AURORAL ROAR EMISSION AURORAL MF-BURST EMISSION
Resonance frequencies vs altitude in the ionosphere
70-79 o invariant, 300 km From: John Hughes’s PhD Thesis (2000)
At right: Measured electron distribution function, with Z-mode cyclotron maser resonance condition for two selected frequencies superposed (courtesy S.R. Bounds and C.A. Kletzing, University of Iowa) Condition for spontaneous emission: f f uh 2f ce – s (1-v /c ) - k v = 0 ce 2 || v +v || T 2 Ellipse in v -v space || T v-parallel [x 10 3 km/s] v-perp [x 10 3 km/s] f uh =2.65 f ce = MHz s= MHz Z-mode Cyclotron maser resonance mechanism s=1,2,3,…
Growth Rate ( / ce ) log 10 ( / ce ) ( pe / ce ) kc/ ce ~ 24 ~ 4 m kc/ ce ~ 8 ~ 12 m Calculations courtesy of P. Yoon Yoon et al., J. Geophys. Res., 103(A3), 4071, 1998 Wavelength is correct for superDARN, but: is the backscatter freq offset by ~3 MHz? Wavenumber (kc/ ce )
Resonance frequencies vs altitude in the ionosphere
[from: Shepherd et al., 1999] Churchill, Manitoba
(mode conversion) 1. AURORAL ELECTRONS UPPER HYBRID f uh =2f ce OR 3f ce DISCRETE EIGENMODES Z-MODE CYCL MASER DUE TO INHOMOGENEITY 2. MODE CONVERSION STRUCTURED O-MODE WAVES ESCAPE RADIO
[from: Yoon, Weatherwax, LaBelle, 2000] Radar backscatter
Time After Launch (seconds) f uh 2f ce (expanded view) (expanded view) [from: Samara, LaBelle, Kletzing, and Bounds, 2004]
Auroral Roar 3f ce Emission (4-4.5 MHz) 2f ce Emission (near 3 MHz) 02/18/1995 Arviat, Nunavut Universal Time Frequency (kHz) MF-burst Emission
Auroral Roar Auroral MF Burst Lowest frequency > L-cutoff at F-peak and > f pe E-peak Highest frequency < f pe F-peak Relatively low energy electron beam (~ hundreds of eV) MFB on poleward edge of expanding substorm aurora Requires low energy consistent with Alfvenic electron beam “wave aurora” at poleward edge
Dispersion Surfaces (from Andre, 1985) Electron gyrofrequency Electron plasma Frequency (=3.30 f_ce In this case) Upper Hybrid Frequency (=3.45 f_ce In this case) V beam Langmuir- Z-mode Wavelength >/~ f pe /v beam = 10 m (assuming f pe ~2 MHz, E beam ~1 keV)
Auroral roar emissions Narrowband, ~3, 4.5 MHz sources are upper hybrid waves sources believed to be standing waves wavevector perp to B, ~ 4-12 m source altitude near 300 km good candidate for superDARN scatter? frequency offset! Auroral MF burst emissions Broadband ~ MHz sources believed to be Langmuir waves? sources believed to be propagating waves wavevector parallel to B, ~10-20 m source altitude km must look up the field line related to ISR plasma lines or NEIALs?
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