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A theory for the generation of "intervals of pulsations of diminishing period"

University of British Columbia

Micropulsation data recorded at Palo Alto, California during 1963-4 and Ralston, Alberta during 1967 have been used to study "Intervals of pulsations of diminishing period" (IPDP). IPDP's are found to be generated in the dusk-midnight quadrant of the magnetosphere at an equatorial distance of about 6 earth radii. An intensive study of the Ralston data reveals that IPDP's occur during the expansive phase of magnetospheric substorms. It is proposed that IPDP's are generated by a cyclotron instability between energetic protons and left-hand ion cyclotron waves. Their main characteristics are determined by the perturbations of the dusk-midnight sector of the magnetosphere by magnetospheric substorms. One of the main disturbances in that region is a slow decrease and then sudden increase in the magnetic field corresponding to the buildup and decay of a partial ring current. IPDP's show an increase in midfrequency due to the change in the cyclotron instability frequency produced by the increasing magnetic field. This theory is tested by a comparison of frequency increase of IPDP's observed at Ralston and magnetic field increase in the magnetosphere observed by the ATS-1 satellite. Other conditions necessary for IPDP generation are then discussed. It is shown that different combinations of these conditions result in the generation of hm emissions and band type micropulsations.

Text

2011-06-14

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/35433

Geophysics

University of British Columbia

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