Abstract
In this review, we discuss the status of our calculations of linear convective growth rates of instabilities of electrostatic multiple electron cyclotron harmonic waves in a plasma consisting of a hot electron component with a loss-cone type of free energy source and a cold electron component of presumably ionospheric origin. When Tc/TH, the ratio of cold to hot electron temperature is small, the cold upper hybrid frequency controls the harmonic bands that can be non-convectively unstable. The band containing the cold upper hybrid frequency and those below it can be non-convectively unstable, however convective instability is possible in bands whose frequencies exceed the cold upper hybrid frequency. When Tc/TH increases above a few times 10-2 non-convective instability disappears more or less simultaneously for each harmonic band, when the density ratio Nc/NH is less than unity. A consistent interpretation of the spatial localization and harmonic frequency bandwidths of the observed waves can be made assuming linear convective saturation, provided that the cold electrons have temperatures considerably in excess of those in the ionosphere. Nonlinear saturation and cold electron heating mechanisms are briefly discussed.KeywordsCold ElectronLoss ConeNonlinear SaturationGeomagnetic EquatorHybrid FrequencyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Published Version
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