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  • We use data from eight satellites to statistically examine the role of chorus as a potential source of plasmaspheric hiss. We find that the strong equatorial (|λm| < 6°) chorus wave power in the frequency range 50 < f < 200 Hz does not extend to high latitudes in any MLT sector and is unlikely to be the source of the low frequency plasmaspheric hiss in this frequency range. In contrast, strong equatorial chorus wave power in the medium frequency range 200 < f < 2000 Hz is observed to extend to high latitudes and low altitudes in the pre-noon sector, consistent with ray tracing modelling from a chorus source and supporting the chorus to hiss generation mechanism. At higher frequencies, chorus may contribute to the weak plasmaspheric hiss seen on the dayside in the frequency range 2000 < f < 3000 Hz band, but is not responsible for the weak plasmaspheric hiss on the night-side in the frequency range 3000 < f < 4000 Hz. The research leading to these results has received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Highlight Topic grant NE/P01738X/1 (Rad-Sat) and the NERC grants NE/V00249X/1 (Sat-Risk) and NE/R016038/1. Jacob Bortnik received funding from NASA grant NNX14AI18G, and RBSP-ECT and EMFISIS funding provided by JHU/APL contracts 967399 and 921647 under NASA's prime contract NAS5-01072. Wen Li and Xiao-Chen Shen received funding from NASA grants 80NSSC20K0698 and 80NSSC19K0845, NSF grant AGS-1847818, and the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship FG-2018-10936.

  • Whistler mode chorus is an important magnetospheric emission, playing fundamental roles in the dynamics of the Earth's outer radiation belt and the production of the Earth's diffuse and pulsating aurora. In this study we extend our existing database of whistler mode chorus by including ~3 years of data from RBSP-A and RBSP-B and an additional ~6 years of data from THEMIS A, D, and E, greatly improving the statistics and coverage in the near-equatorial region (|MLAT|<18^o). We produce new global maps of whistler mode chorus as a function of spatial location and frequency. This work is reported in Meredith et al. [2020] and the data provided here enable reconstruction of all of the figures in the paper. The research leading to these results has received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Highlight Topic grant NE/P01738X/1 (Rad-Sat) and the NERC grant NE/R016038/1. Wen Li and Xiao-Chen Shen received funding from NASA grants NNX17AG07G and 80NSSC19K0845, NSF grant AGS-1847818, and the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship FG-2018-10936. Jacob Bortnik received funding from NASA grants NNX14AI18G, and RBSP-ECT and EMFISIS funding provided by JHU/APL contracts 967399 and 921647 under NASA's prime contract NAS5-01072.

  • Whistler-mode chorus waves play a key role in driving radiation belt dynamics by enabling both acceleration of electrons to relativistic energies as well as their loss into the atmosphere via pitch-angle scattering. The ratio between the electron plasma frequency (fpe) and the electron gyrofrequency (fce) significantly influences the efficiency of these processes, with electron acceleration being most effective during periods of low fpe/fce. In this study, a combined total of approximately 24.5 years of THEMIS wave data are analyzed to show how chorus wave intensity and spatial location vary with relative frequency, geomagnetic activity and fpe/fce. Results demonstrate that the strongest chorus emissions are observed during active conditions. At these times, equatorial chorus at low relative frequencies (flhr<f<0.1fce) is strongest when fpe/fce is high (fpe/fce>10) primarily in the region 5<L*<8, from 22:00-12:00 MLT. In sharp contrast at high relative frequencies (0.5fce<f<0.7fce), the equatorial chorus is strongest when fpe/fce is low (fpefce<6) mainly in the region 4<L*<6 from 21:00-09:00 MLT. At intermediate relative frequencies (0.3fce<f<0.4fce), equatorial chorus is strongest in the region 3.5<L*<8 from 21:00-12:00 MLT. In the off-equatorial region the strongest waves are seen in the frequency range (0.1fce<f<0.3fce) between 5<L*<8 and 06:00-15:00 MLT and again are mostly independent of fpe/fce. We show that the location of the strongest waves can be largely explained in terms of the source electrons being in the required energy range for resonance and the absence of Landau damping and highlight the regions where electron acceleration to relativistic energies is likely to be mostly significant.