Application of Cold and Hot Plasma Composition Measurements to Investigate Impacts on Dusk-Side Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves

• An extended interval of perturbed magnetospheric conditions in November 2016 supported increased convection and sunward transport of plasmaspheric material. During this period of time the Magnetospheric Multiscale satellites, with their apogees along Earth's dusk-side outer magnetosphere, encountered several cold plasma density structures at the same time as plasma bulk flows capable of accelerating hidden cold plasma occurred. Investigating the charged particle and fields data during two subintervals showed that the satellites made direct measurements of cold plasmaspheric ions embedded within multicomponent hot plasmas as well as electromagnetic emissions consistent with electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves. The complex in situ ion composition measurements were applied to linear wave modeling to interpret the impacts of cold and hot ion species on wave growth and band structure. Although the waves for both intervals were predicted to have peak growth rate below omega(He+), substantial differences were observed among all other dispersive properties. The modeling also showed EMIC waves generated in the presence of heavy ions had growth rates and unstable wave numbers always smaller than predicted for a pure proton-electron plasma. The results provide implications for future investigation of EMIC wave generation with and without direct measurements of the cold and hot plasma composition as well as of subsequent wave-particle interactions.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Fusion, plasma och rymdfysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Fusion, Plasma and Space Physics (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Geofysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geophysics (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

EMIC waves

instruments and techniques

ion cyclotron waves

linear theory

low&#8208

energy ions

plasma composition

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)