Narrowband Magnetosonic Waves Near the Lower Hybrid Resonance Frequency in the Inner Magnetosphere: Wave Properties and Excitation Conditions

Abstract

AbstractIn this study, the excitation of narrowband fast magnetosonic (MS) waves near the lower hybrid resonance frequency (fLHR) has been investigated with observations from Van Allen Probes mission and linear growth theory. A typical wave event is first examined to show that these waves can be excited through linear instabilities driven by partial shell distributions of protons. Then it is found that these narrowband MS waves from 188 wave events observed by the Van Allen Probe A between January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015 have central frequencies around 0.7fLHR with a bandwidth of 0.2fLHR. In addition, these waves are observed mainly in the dayside and dusk sectors outside the plasmapause, which is different from previously reported results. Moreover, the simultaneously observed energetic protons during wave activities show that the ratios of the ring speed Vr to the Alfvén speed VA mainly fall into the range of 0.8 < Vr/VA < 1, and this preferred condition for excitations of narrowband MS waves near fLHR is also verified by a parameter analysis of calculating linear wave growth rates combined with wave observations.