Chorus waves, among the most intense electromagnetic emissions in the Earth’s magnetosphere, magnetized planets, and laboratory plasmas, play an important role in the acceleration and loss of energetic electrons in the plasma universe through resonant interactions with electrons. However, the spatial evolution of the electron resonant interactions with electromagnetic waves remains poorly understood owing to imaging difficulties. Here we provide a compelling visualization of chorus element wave–particle interactions in the Earth’s magnetosphere. Through in-situ measurements of chorus waveforms with the Arase satellite and transient auroral flashes from electron precipitation events as detected by 100-Hz video sampling from the ground, Earth’s aurora becomes a display for the resonant interactions. Our observations capture an asymmetric spatial development, correlated strongly with the amplitude variation of discrete chorus elements. This finding is not theoretically predicted but helps in understanding the rapid scattering processes of energetic electrons near the Earth and other magnetized planets.
We analyze the cosmic-ray variations during a significant Forbush decrease observed with worldwide networks of ground-based neutron monitors and muon detectors during 2021 November 3–5. Utilizing the difference between primary cosmic-ray rigidities monitored by neutron monitors and muon detectors, we deduce the rigidity spectra of the cosmic-ray density (or omnidirectional intensity) and the first- and second-order anisotropies separately for each hour of data. A clear two-step decrease is seen in the cosmic-ray density with the first ∼2% decrease after the interplanetary shock arrival followed by the second ∼5% decrease inside the magnetic flux rope (MFR) at 15 GV. Most strikingly, a large bidirectional streaming along the magnetic field is observed in the MFR with a peak amplitude of ∼5% at 15 GV, which is comparable to the total density decrease inside the MFR. The bidirectional streaming could be explained by adiabatic deceleration and/or focusing in the expanding MFR, which have stronger effects for pitch angles near 90°, or by selective entry of GCRs along a leg of the MFR. The peak anisotropy and density depression in the flux rope both decrease with increasing rigidity. The spectra vary dynamically, indicating that the temporal variations of density and anisotropy appear different in neutron monitor and muon detector data.
29 November 2008 in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
We present, for the first time, the modulation of the electric field at ionospheric altitudes possibly associated with an occurrence of pulsating aurora. In November 2005, campaign‐based simultaneous measurements of pulsating aurora were conducted in Iceland with an all‐sky TV camera (ATV) at Tjornes (66.20°N, 17.12°W) and the SuperDARN radar at Thykkvibaer (63.77°N, 20.54°W). During an interval within the campaign period, pulsating aurora whose frequency was approximately 8 seconds were observed with the ATV in the morning sector. A quasi‐periodic oscillation was identified in the line‐of‐sight Doppler velocity from the radar backscatter colocated with the pulsating aurora. The amplitude of the velocity fluctuation ranged from 50 to 100 m s−1, which corresponds to an electric field modulation of 4–7 mV m−1. The period of the electric field fluctuation was the same as that of the optical pulsating aurora. We suggest that the oscillating Doppler velocity is driven by polarization electric fields generated through charge accumulation at the edges of region of enhanced electron density caused by the occurrence of pulsating aurora.
We demonstrate that global observations of high‐energy cosmic rays contribute to understanding unique characteristics of a large‐scale magnetic flux rope causing a magnetic storm in August 2018. Following a weak interplanetary shock on August 25, 2018, a magnetic flux rope caused an unexpectedly large geomagnetic storm. It is likely that this event became geoeffective because the flux rope was accompanied by a corotating interaction region and compressed by high‐speed solar wind following the flux rope. In fact, a Forbush decrease was observed in cosmic‐ray data inside the flux rope as expected, and a significant cosmic‐ray density increase exceeding the unmodulated level before the shock was also observed near the trailing edge of the flux rope. The cosmic‐ray density increase can be interpreted in terms of the adiabatic heating of cosmic rays near the trailing edge of the flux rope, as the corotating interaction region prevents free expansion of the flux rope and results in the compression near the trailing edge. A northeast‐directed spatial gradient in the cosmic‐ray density was also derived during the cosmic‐ray density increase, suggesting that the center of the heating near the trailing edge is located northeast of Earth. This is one of the best examples demonstrating that the observation of high‐energy cosmic rays provides us with information that can only be derived from the cosmic ray measurements to observationally constrain the three‐dimensional macroscopic picture of the interaction between coronal mass ejections and the ambient solar wind, which is essential for prediction of large magnetic storms.
Pc1 geomagnetic pulsations, equivalent to electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves in the magnetosphere, display a specific amplitude modulation, though the region of the modulation remains an open issue. To classify whether the amplitude modulation has a magnetospheric or ionospheric origin, an isolated proton aurora (IPA), which is a proxy of Pc1 wave‐particle interactions, is compared with the associated Pc1 waves for a geomagnetic conjugate pair, Halley Research Base in Antarctica and Nain in Canada. The temporal variation of an IPA shows a higher correlation coefficient (0.88) with Pc1 waves in the same hemisphere than that in the opposite hemisphere. This conjugate observation reveals that the classic cyclotron resonance is insufficient to determine the amplitude modulation. We suggest that direct wave radiation from the ionospheric current by IPA should also contribute to the amplitude modulation.
7 September 2021 in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Using Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace (ERG or Arase) spacecraft data, we studied low‐frequency magnetic field and energetic particle flux oscillations and high‐frequency waves deep in the inner magnetosphere at a radial distance of ~4–5 during substorm dipolarization. The magnetic field oscillated alternately between dipole‐like and taillike configuration at a period of 1 min during dipolarization. When the magnetic field was dipole‐like, the parallel magnetic component of the Pi2 waves was at trough. Both energetic ion and electron fluxes with a few to tens of kiloelectronvolts enhanced out of phase, indicating that magnetosonic waves were in slow mode. Field‐aligned currents also oscillated. These observations are consistent with signatures of ballooning instability. In addition, we found that broadband waves from the Pi1 range to above the electron cyclotron frequency tended to appear intermittently in the central plasma sheet near dipole‐like configuration.