Amplitudes of electron cyclotron waves transmitted in the ionosphere

Abstract

[1] During the two-point sounding rocket experiment Observations of Electric-field Distributions in the Ionospheric Plasma–A Unique Strategy-C (OEDIPUS-C, hereinafter OC), Bernstein or electron cyclotron waves (ECWs) were transmitted over magnetic field-aligned emitter-receiver separations of hundreds of meters. Signals were observed at harmonic frequencies mfc of the electron cyclotron frequency fc, where m was 2, 3, and 4, fc ≈ 1.3 MHz, and the electron plasma frequency was less than half of fc. The electric fields at 2fc radiated by the emitting dipoles have been computed from the inhomogeneous Helmholtz wave equation. Using the full hot plasma theory to evaluate the dielectric tensor, a Green's function has been derived, based partly on numerical inversion and facilitated by some simplifications made possible by the given frequency and plasma parameters. Under the assumption of straight-line rays, it is found that the computed absolute voltage levels induced on the receiving dipoles are of the same order of magnitude as the observed levels. The electric field E radiation patterns at 2fc are found to be highly elongated along the direction of the Earth's magnetic induction field B. The component of E perpendicular to B, the radial or ρ component, is much stronger than the other two components in a cylindrical coordinate system. The prediction of strong radial E magnitudes along ray directions very close to B is consistent with the OC observations. These results enlarge our appreciation of distinct characteristics of ECW radiation and propagation that may improve understanding of the role of these electrostatic waves in ionospheric dynamics.