On the fine inner structure of whistler mode quasiperiodic emissions

Abstract

Whistler mode quasiperiodic (QP) emissions are electromagnetic waves at frequencies between about 0.5 and 4 kHz observed in the Earth’s inner magnetosphere, which are characterized by their nearly periodic time modulation of the wave intensity. Although they have been studied using both ground-based and satellite instruments for already a few decades, their origin remains unclear. Recent studies of these emissions revealed that, on top of the main modulation period, some of the events exhibit an additional fine inner intensity modulation. We use high-resolution electromagnetic wave measurements obtained by the low-altitude DEMETER spacecraft to systematically study the presence/absence of such fine inner structure and the corresponding fine inner modulation periods. Altogether, as many as 251 events are analyzed. Out of these, the clear fine inner modulation is observed for 71 events, only unclear fine inner modulation is observed for 63 events, and the fine inner modulation is completely absent for 117 events. We show that the fine inner structure tends to occur primarily for QP events with shorter modulation periods. The fine inner modulation periods are on the order of few seconds, corresponding to bounce times of whistler mode waves in between the hemispheres. They typically stay quite constant within a single event, and they tend to be lower at larger geomagnetic latitudes (L-shells). Interestingly, the fine inner modulation periods are positively correlated with the main QP modulation periods. The results obtained are of interest for understanding possible mechanisms responsible for the generation of QP events.