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Burtis, W. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Burtis, W. J..

5 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1976

Magnetospheric chorus - Occurrence patterns and normalized frequency

Over 400 hours of continuous broadband data obtained by the OGO 3 satellite are analyzed to provide a statistically accurate description of band-limited (magnetospheric) chorus. Certain aspects of the chorus frequency distribution are interpreted in terms of a gyroresonant electron feedback model of generation. An example of high chorus activity during an outbound pass through the noon magnetosphere is examined in detail, the spectral complexity of some chorus is illustrated, and the diurnal variation of chorus occurrence is investigated. The frequency and bandwidth distributions of chorus are analyzed. The results indicate that chorus occurrence depends strongly on local time and dipole latitude, the general region of maximum chorus occurrence approximates the previously reported zone of 'hard' electron precipitation, and the normalized chorus frequency is strongly dependent on dipole latitude. It is shown how a change in the curvature of the whistler-mode refractive-index surface affects focusing of radiation along magnetic field lines and how interference can occur between modes with slightly different ray velocities. It is concluded that most magnetospheric chorus consists of rising emissions which are probably generated by gyroresonant electrons slightly off the equator.

Burtis, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Magnetospheric chorus - Amplitude and growth rate

A new study of the amplitude of magnetospheric chorus with 1966-1967 data from the Stanford University/Stanford Research Institute VLF receivers on Ogo 1 and Ogo 3 has confirmed the band-limited character of magnetospheric chorus in general and the double-banding of near-equatorial chorus. Chorus amplitude tended to be inversely correlated with frequency, implying lower intensities at lower L values. Individual chorus emissions often showed a characteristic amplitude variation, with rise times of 10 to 300 ms, a short duration at peak amplitude, and decay times of 100 to 3000 msec. Growth was often approximately exponential, with rates from 200 to nearly 2000 dB/sec. Rate of change of frequency was found in many cases to be independent of emission amplitude, in agreement with the cyclotron feedback theory of chorus (Helliwell, 1967, 1970).

Burtis, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Electron concentrations calculated from the lower hybrid resonance noise band observed by Ogo 3.

A noise band at the lower hybrid resonance (LHR) is often detected by the VLF and ELF receivers on Ogo 3, using the electric antenna. In some cases the noise band is at the geometric mean gyrofrequency as measured by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) magnetometer, and local LHR in a dense H(+) plasma is indicated; in such cases, electron concentration can be calculated, if it is assumed that heavy ions are negligible. Observations at midlatitudes and altitudes of a few earth radii show local concentrations as low as 1.4 electrons/cu cm. In one case the concentrations obtained from the LHR noise band agree with those measured simultaneously by the GSFC ion mass spectrometer within a factor of 2. In another case the concentration is observed to fall by a factor of 2 in 150 km and then to decrease roughly as R to the minus fourth power, in agreement with whistler measurements outside the plasmapause.

Burtis, W. J.↗