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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1976

Deuteron whistler and trans-equatorial propagation of the ion cyclotron whistler

The paper investigates two unusual types of ion cyclotron whistlers that were found in the low-latitude topside ionosphere by analyzing ISIS VLF electric-field data received at Kashima, Japan. One type is characterized by an asymptotic frequency equal to one half the local proton gyrofrequency; the asymptotic frequency of the other type corresponds to the minimum proton gyrofrequency along the geomagnetic field line passing through the satellite. The observations are compared with theoretical spectrograms of the ion cyclotron whistlers computed for appropriate model distributions of electrons and ions in the topside ionosphere. It is found that the whistlers with the asymptotic frequency of one half the local proton gyrofrequency are deuteron whistlers and that the other whistlers are due to the transequatorial propagation of proton or deuteron whistlers originating in the southern hemisphere.

Watanabe, S.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Propagation and damping of broadband upstream whistlers

Previous studies indicated that damping rates of upstream whistlers strongly depend on the details of the electron distribution function. Moreover, detailed analysis of Doppler-shift and whistler dispersion relation indicated that upstream whistlers propagate obliquely in a broad band. In this paper we present results of a kinetic calculation of damping lengths of wide-band whistlers using the sum of 7-drifting bi-Maxwellian electron distributions as a best fit to the International Sun Earth Explorer (ISEE) 1 electron data. For 2 cases, when upstream whistlers are observed, convective damping lengths derived from ISEE magnetic field and ephemeris data are compared with theoretical results. We find that the calculated convective damping lengths are consistent with the data and that upstream whistlers remain marginally stable. We also show that the slope of plasma frame spectra of upstream whistlers, obtained by direct fitting of the observed spectra is between 5 and 7 with a sharp lower frequency cutoff corresponding to a wavelength of about one ion inertial length. When the solar wind velocity is directed largely along the wave normal of the upstream whistlers the polariztion of the right hand waves becomes reversed and low frequencies are switched to high resulting in a peaked spectrum with a strong high frequency cutoff. The overall spectral, wave and particle characteristics, proximity to the shock as well as propagation and damping properties indicate that these waves cannot be generated locally. Instead the observed upstream whistlers arise in the shock ramp most likely by a variety of cross-field drift and/or anisotropy driven instabilities.

Orlowski, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A summary of whistlers observed by Voyager 1 at Jupiter

We summarize the Voyager 1 observations of whistlers at Jupiter in order to provide a basis for further analyses of the density profile of the Io plasma torus as well as to support studies of atmospheric lightning at Jupiter. All the whistlers detected by Voyager 1 fell into three general regions in the torus at radial distances ranging beteen 5 and 6 R sub J. An analysis of the broadband wave amplitudes measured by the Voyayer 1 plasma wave instrument and estimates of the peak whistler amplitudes imply the grouping of whistlers was due to variations in the sensitivity of the receiver to whistlers and not to variations in the source or propagation paths of the whistlers. The whistler dispersions are presented in statistical form for each of the three groups of events and analyzed in view of the structure of the Io plasma torus as determined by plasma probe measurements. The results of these analyses give source locations for the whistlers at the foot of the magnetic field lines threading the torus in both hemispheres and over a range of longitudes.

Kurth, W. S.↗
NASA NTRS1994

New aspects of whistler waves driven by an electron beam studied by a 3-D electromagnetic code

We have restudied electron beam driven whistler waves with a 3-D electromagnetic particle code. The simulation results show electromagnetic whistler wave emissions and electrostatic beam modes like those observed in the Spacelab 2 electron beam experiment. It has been suggested in the past that the spatial bunching of beam electrons associated with the beam mode may directly generate whistler waves. However, the simulation results indicate several inconsistencies with this picture: (1) whistler waves continue to be generated even after the beam mode space charge modulation looses its coherence, (2) the parallel (to the background magnetic field) wavelength of the whistler wave is longer than that of the beam instability, and (3) the parallel phase velocity of the whistler wave is smaller than that of the beam mode. The complex structure of the whistler waves in the vicinity of the beam suggest that the transverse motion (gyration) of the beam and background electrons is also involved in the generation of whistler waves.

Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi↗
NASA NTRS2011

Large Amplitude Whistlers in the Magnetosphere Observed with Wind-Waves

We describe the results of a statistical survey of Wind-Waves data motivated by the recent STEREO/Waves discovery of large-amplitude whistlers in the inner magnetosphere. Although Wind was primarily intended to monitor the solar wind, the spacecraft spent 47 h inside 5 R(sub E) and 431 h inside 10 R(sub E) during the 8 years (1994-2002) that it orbited the Earth. Five episodes were found when whistlers had amplitudes comparable to those of Cattell et al. (2008), i.e., electric fields of 100 m V/m or greater. The whistlers usually occurred near the plasmapause. The observations are generally consistent with the whistlers observed by STEREO. In contrast with STEREO, Wind-Waves had a search coil, so magnetic measurements are available, enabling determination of the wave vector without a model. Eleven whistler events with useable magnetic measurements were found. The wave vectors of these are distributed around the magnetic field direction with angles from 4 to 48deg. Approximations to observed electron distribution functions show a Kennel-Petschek instability which, however, does not seem to produce the observed whistlers. One Wind episode was sampled at 120,000 samples/s, and these events showed a signature that is interpreted as trapping of electrons in the electrostatic potential of an oblique whistler. Similar waveforms are found in the STEREO data. In addition to the whistler waves, large amplitude, short duration solitary waves (up to 100 mV/m), presumed to be electron holes, occur in these passes, primarily on plasma sheet field lines mapping to the auroral zone.

Kellogg, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Source of the Bursty Bulk Flow Diffuse Aurora: Electrostatic Cyclotron Harmonic and Whistler Waves in the Coupling of Bursty Bulk Flows to Auroral Precipitation

Electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) and whistler chorus waves are recognized as the two mechanisms responsible for the resonant wave‐particle interactions necessary to precipitate plasma sheet electrons into the ionosphere, producing the diffuse Aurora. Previous work has demonstrated ECH waves dominate electron scattering at L shells >8, while whistler chorus dominates scattering at L shells L < 8. However, we find from Time History of Events and Macroscale (THEMIS) Interactions during Substorms observations of fast flows at L = 12 that oblique whistler chorus emissions play the dominant role in scattering electrons. Previous works have identified whistler‐mode waves within fast flows that are produced by an electron temperature anisotropy Te,⊥/Te,||> 1, consistent with electron betatron acceleration. Here, however, we find whistler chorus emissions throughout an interval of fast flows where Te,⊥/Te,||< 1. Parallel electron beams account for the enhanced parallel electron temperature and serve as the instability mechanism for the whistler chorus. The parallel electron beams and associated cigar‐shaped distributions are consistent with Fermi acceleration at dipolarizations in fast flows. We demonstrate that the scattering efficiency of the whistler chorus exceeds that of ECH waves, which THEMIS also detects during the fast flows. The obliquity of the whistler waves permits efficient scattering of lower‐energy electrons into the diffuse aurora. We conclude that Fermi acceleration of electrons provides one important free‐energy source for the wave‐particle interactions responsible for coupling plasma sheet electrons into the diffuse aurora during substorm conditions.

Wendel, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Magnetospheric whistler ducts observed by ISIS satellites

The latitudinal width of the magnetospheric whistler duct has been estimated by the first and final invariant latitudes of whistler echoes and the conservation of the magnetic flux for the centered dipole field, using 105 whistler echoes in ISIS VLF data received at Kashima, Japan for 1972-1973. The latitudinal distribution of whistler duct occurrence shows a maximum at invariant latitudes of 40-45 degrees near the maximum occurrence latitude of ground whistlers. The radial width of magnetospheric whistler duct in the geomagnetically equatorial plane increases with invariant latitude of the geomagnetic flux tube in which whistlers propagate.

Ondoh, T.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A comparison of equatorial electron densities measured by whistlers and by a satellite radio technique

Magnetospheric equatorial electron densities determined from whistler observations are compared with in situ satellite measurements of electron density along near-equatorial orbits. Whistler data was recorded at Siple and Palmer, Antarctica, while the sweep frequency receiver on ISEE-1 was used to measure plasma densities during passes within about 15 deg of the whistler station longitudes at L values between 3 and 5.2. The whistler and satellite data sets are found to be in good agreement for the three rendezvous considered, suggesting that the diffusive equilibrium model applied to calculate electron densities from whistler measurements was appropriate for the description of electron density distributions along field lines in the outer plasmasphere. Data also indicate that density enhancements within the whistler ducts were not more than about 30% of the mean or interduct level, and that there were no significant east-west density gradients within about 15 deg of whistler station longitudes over the L range of the study.

Carpenter, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Whistlers and plasmaspheric hiss - Wave directions and three-dimensional propagation

Wave propagation directions are determined on the basis of wave data from the DE 1 satellite showing simultaneously nonducted whistlers and hiss. Hiss wave normal angles are determined as about 70 and 77 deg for f = 3.5 and 2.5 kHz, respectively, with the wave vector being almost perpendicular to the meridional plane. A novel approximate analytical formulation of 3D propagation of whistler waves is developed and used to model the drift of magnetospherically reflected whistlers in azimuth. It is shown that depending on initial parameters, the time of arrival of whistler rays at a fixed observation point can differ by 10-20 s, with signals from different magnetospherically reflected whistlers overlapping to evolve into a hisslike signal. The total azimuthal drift of whistler rays is found to not exceed about 30 deg, so that plasmaspheric hiss may be produced by nonducted whistlers at longitudes correlated with the location of thunderstorm activity.

Draganov, A. B.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Excitation of whistler and slow-X waves by runaway electrons in a collisional plasma

Runaway electrons are known to provide robust ideal or collisionless kinetic drive for plasma wave instabilities in both the whistler and slow-X branches, via the anomalous Doppler-shifted cyclotron resonances. In a cold and dense post-thermal-quench plasma, collisional damping of the plasma waves can compete with the collisionless drive. Previous studies have found that, due to their higher wavelength and frequency, slow-X waves suffer stronger collisional damping than the whistlers, while the ideal growth rate of slow-X modes is higher. Here, we study runaway avalanche distributions that maintain the same eigen distribution and increase only in magnitude over time. The distributions are computed from the relativistic Fokker–Planck–Boltzmann solver, upon which a linear dispersion analysis is performed to search for the most unstable or least damped slow-X and whistler modes. Taking into account the effect of plasma density, plasma temperature, and effective charge number, we find that the slow-X modes tend to be excited before the whistlers in a runaway current ramp-up. Furthermore, even when the runaway current density is sufficiently high that both branches are excited, the most unstable slow-X mode has a much higher growth rate than the most unstable whistler mode. The qualitative and quantitative trends uncovered in the current study indicate that even though past experiments and modeling efforts have concentrated on whistler modes, there is a compelling case that slow-X modes should also be a key area of focus in the runaway self-mediation through wave instabilities.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Understanding cold electron impact on parallel-propagating whistler chorus waves via moment-based quasilinear theory

Earth's magnetosphere hosts a wide range of collisionless particle populations that interact through various wave-particle processes. Among these, cold electrons, with energies below 100 eV, often dominate the plasma density but remain poorly characterized due to measurement challenges such as spacecraft charging and photoelectron contamination. Understanding the contribution of these cold populations to wave–particle interaction is of significant interest. Recent kinetic simulations identified a secondary drift-driven instability, in which parallel-propagating whistler-mode chorus waves excite oblique electrostatic whistler waves near the resonance cone and Bernstein-mode turbulence. These secondary modes enable a new channel of energy transfer from the parallel-propagating whistler wave to the cold electrons. In this work, we develop a moment-based quasilinear theory of the secondary instabilities to quantify such energy exchange. Our results show that these secondary instabilities persist for a wide range of parameters and, in many cases, lead to nearly complete damping of the primary wave. Such secondary instability might limit the amplitude of parallel-propagating whistler waves in Earth's magnetosphere and might explain why high-amplitude oblique whistler or electron Bernstein waves are rarely observed simultaneously with high-amplitude field-aligned whistler waves in the inner magnetosphere.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Studies of whistler propagation along a plasma density gradient that is parallel to the magnetic field

Low frequency plasma wave generation in space is important for both scientific and practical applications. One of the most promising techniques for doing this is to directly inject whistler waves into the space environment from an antenna onboard one or more satellites. This technique has been discussed for years, but there are still open questions about the best way to generate plasma waves. So far, most theoretical [Kondrat92], lab based [Pribyl2010, Stenzel2016] and space-based experiments [DSX] have focused on studying the generation of whistler waves from an electric dipole antenna. However, a dipole antenna is very inefficient because it puts a lot of energy in waves that are not effective for most applications. Theoretical [Kondrat92] and lab experimental [Stenzel2016] results indicate that a loop antenna is much more efficient at generating whistler waves than a dipole antenna. A satellite experiment will need to be developed to demonstrate that whistler waves can be generated from a loop antenna in the space environment. The challenge is that to efficiently transmit whistler modes in the natural plasma environment of space, the loop antenna will have to be very large. For example, at L=2 (one earth radius away from the surface of the earth) a loop antenna would need a radius on the order of ~200 m to radiate efficiently, as shown in fig. 1, left. The antenna size and complexity would require a prohibitively large and expensive satellite mission. Our proposed innovation is to exploit the fact that the characteristic wavelength of whistler waves decreases in more dense plasma, which reduces the size needed for an antenna to radiate efficiently. Fortunately, a technique already exists for enhancing the local plasma density in space, called a plasma contactor [Kovaleski2001]. A plasma contactor can be used to create a local environment where the plasma density is enhanced around the satellite, which in turn reduces the size of an antenna that is needed to radiate efficiently (Fig. 1, right).

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1974

VLF emissions and whistlers observed during geomagnetic storms

Whistler-triggered emissions and a narrowband hiss are described which were observed over Japan by ISIS 2 during the main phase of the geomagnetic storm of August 9, 1972. The characteristics of the narrowband hiss and increases in the whistler rate during the storm are discussed, and the ISIS-2 data are compared with data on whistler cutoffs and VLF noise breakups obtained by OGO 4 and Alouette I. Since the whistlers and narrowband hiss are usually observed inside and outside the plasmapause, it is thought that the plasmapause may have been located near the low-latitude end of the narrowband hiss during the main phase of the storm. It is suggested that the increases in the whistler rate may have been caused by the formation of whistler ducts in the disturbed plasmapause.

Ondoh, T.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Whistler mode noise in Jupiter's inner magnetosphere

A study is made of the amplitude and spectral extent of whistler mode noise in the inner magnetosphere of Jupiter. It is found that the 'hat-shaped' pitch angle distributions of energetic electrons (21 and 31 MeV at L=3) are consistent with those predicted in the presence of a band-limited spectrum of whistler mode noise. The equatorial maximum linear growth rate of parallel propagating whistlers are consistent with those necessary to limit the energetic electron intensities by the whistler mode instability. It is noted that the wave phase speeds before wave reflection can occur at high latitudes and that wave growth is limited to a disk-like region centered around the magnetic equator. The frequency extent of the whistler mode noise spectrum may be estimated by the range of frequencies maximally unstable to equatorial linear growth. A value is found for the spectral density of the broadband whistler mode noise necessary to balance radial diffusion of energetic electrons above the critical range, and an expression is derived for the energetic electron system response to fluctuations about the limiting flux value.

Sentman, D. D.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Some features of pararesonance /PR/ whistlers

Pararesonance (PR) whistlers observed in the topside ionosphere by the Dartmouth receiver on Ogo 6 are examined. The study extends that of Walter and Angerami (1969) to higher frequencies and shows that the upper cutoff frequency of PR whistlers closely follows a 1/L to the 4th dependence from 6 to 100 kHz (at L = 2.90 and 1.37, respectively). Most PR whistlers are attached to paralongitudinal (PL) whistlers due, presumably, to intermode coupling. The 'walking trace', or unattached PR whistler, reported by Walter and Angerami is evidently unusual. The upper cutoff frequency follows 1/L to the 4th whether attachment occurs or not. Rising sawtooth appendages starting at the upper cutoff frequency are frequency seen on PR whistlers.

Morgan, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Correlated whistler and electron plasma oscillation bursts detected on ISEE-3

The ISEE-3 plasma wave instrument detects associated bursts of electron plasma oscillations and whistler mode waves at an average rate of event one every two days. The plasma wave measurements give the electron number density, and simultaneously measured E and B amplitudes are used to deduce an index of refraction consistent with whistler mode propagation for the measured number density and magnetic field. Burst durations are a few minutes, with some trains of bursts lasting up to an hour. Individual spectral scans (two per second) reveal that the whistler and plasma wave amplitude-time profiles differ within a burst. Peak plasma wave amplitudes are near one mV/m, and the peak whistler mode energy density exceeds that of the plasma oscillations by about a factor 100. The frequency of the whistler mode wave observed in one well diagnosed event agrees with the predictions of the heat flux whistler instability theory. The associated plasma wave instability probably requires a bump-on-tail feature in the heat flux electron component, possibly due to impulsive heating elsewhere on the field-line connecting to ISEE-3.

Kennel, C. F.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Whistlers

Theoretical models of ionospheric whistler phenomena are reviewed and compared with experimental data. Whistlers were characterized as lightning discharges through a dispersive medium in 1919, with the first observed appearance of whistler noises detected in telephone communications. Magneto-ionic theory is used to characterize whistlers, with the Appleton-Hartree equations applied to the wave fields arising from lightning interactions with ionospheric plasma. Large values of the refractive index or slow propagation speeds give rise to the whistler mode, i.e., propagation of the wave through plasmas of any density. Propagation through the ionosphere is examined with the Snell's law, and account is taken of absorption and the necessity of obtaining full-wave solutions. Finally, theories are under development to explain the occurrence of ducting, i.e., guiding of the whistler wave by field-aligned plasma density irregularities.

Park, C. G.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Jet noise modification by the 'whistler nozzle'

The farfield noise characteristics of a subsonic whistler nozzle jet are measured as a function of Mach number (0.25, 0.37, and, 0.51), emission angle, and excitation mode. It is shown that a whistler nozzle has greater total and broadband acoustic power than an excited contraction nozzle; and that the intensity of far-field noise is a function of emission angle, Mach number, and whistler excitation stage. The whistler nozzle excitation produces broadband noise amplification with constant spectral shape; the broadband noise amplification (without associated whistler tones and harmonics) increases omnidirectionally with emission angle at all Mach numbers; and the broadband amplification factor decreases as Mach number and emission angle increase. Finally the whistler nozzle is described as a very efficient but inexpensive siren with applications in not only jet excitation but also acoustics.

Hasan, M. A. Z.↗