Electron plasma waves upstream of the Earth's bow shock

Abstract

Electrostatic waves are observed around the plasma frequency fpe in the electron foreshock, together with electrons backstreaming from the bow shock. Using data from the sounder aboard ISEE 1, we show that this noise, previously understood as narrow band Langmuir waves more or less widened by Doppler shift or nonlinear effects, is in fact composed of two distinct parts: One is a narrow band noise, emitted just above fpe, and observed at the upstream boundary of the electron foreshock. This component has been interpreted as Langmuir waves emitted by a beam‐plasma instability. We suggest that it is of sufficiently large amplitude and monochromatic enough to trap resonant electrons. The other is a broad band noise, more impulsive than the narrow band noise, observed well above and/or well below fpe, deeper in the electron foreshock. The broad band noise has an average spectrum with a typical bi‐exponential shape; its peak frequency is not exactly equal to fpe and depends on the Debye length. This peak frequency also depends on the velocity for which the electron distribution has maximum skew. An experimental determination of the dispersion relation of the broad band noise shows that this noise, as well as the narrow band noise, may be due to the instability of a hot beam in a plasma.