Interaction of energetic electrons with dust whistler-mode waves in magnetospheric dusty plasmas

Abstract

In this Letter, a new conceptual approach has been presented to investigate the interaction of energetic electrons with dust whistler-mode waves in magnetospheric dusty (complex) plasmas. Dust whistler-mode waves generated in the presence of charged dust grains in the magnetized dusty plasma, can scatter the launched electrons into the loss-cone leading to precipitation into the upper atmosphere which is an important loss process in the radiation belts and provides a major source of energy for the diffuse and pulsating aurora. To study the scattered electrons and chaotic regions, a Hamiltonian model of the electron-dust wave interaction has been employed in the magnetospheric plasma by considering the launched electron beam self-fields. Numerical simulations indicate that an electron beam interacting with the whistler-mode wave can easily trigger chaos in the dust-free plasma, while in the presence of dust charged grains in the plasma, the chaotic regions are quenched to some extent in the magnetosphere. Consequently, the rate of scattered electrons into the loss-cone reduces for the regions that the dust grains are present.