Wave-Particle Interactions Due To Precipitating Particles
Location
Yosemite National Park
Start Date
2-8-1974 11:45 AM
End Date
2-8-1974 12:00 PM
Description
It is shown that under conditions typical of the high latitude upper ionosphere instabilities- caused by precipitating electrons are saturated by nonlinear wave-particle interactions. Consequently, a part of the energy stored in the oscillating field is randomized resulting in a temperature increase of the plasma. This heat input mechanism is considerably more effective than the heat input based on binary Coulomb collisions, since the major contribution to the latter comes from very low energy electrons (E < kTe) , while the heating rate due to nonlinear interactions provides an efficient mechanism for direct energy transfer from the higher energy precipitating electrons to the ambient plasma. The heat input rate obtained in this way is of the same order as the rates of energy change due to conduction and convection. Therefore, the energy transfer ,from the precipitating electrons to the ambient electron gas through wave-particle interactions plays an important part in the thermal structure and the dynamics of the upper ionosphere.
Wave-Particle Interactions Due To Precipitating Particles
Yosemite National Park
It is shown that under conditions typical of the high latitude upper ionosphere instabilities- caused by precipitating electrons are saturated by nonlinear wave-particle interactions. Consequently, a part of the energy stored in the oscillating field is randomized resulting in a temperature increase of the plasma. This heat input mechanism is considerably more effective than the heat input based on binary Coulomb collisions, since the major contribution to the latter comes from very low energy electrons (E < kTe) , while the heating rate due to nonlinear interactions provides an efficient mechanism for direct energy transfer from the higher energy precipitating electrons to the ambient plasma. The heat input rate obtained in this way is of the same order as the rates of energy change due to conduction and convection. Therefore, the energy transfer ,from the precipitating electrons to the ambient electron gas through wave-particle interactions plays an important part in the thermal structure and the dynamics of the upper ionosphere.