Engineering Papers⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Inan, U. S.

Publications and source records attributed to Inan, U. S..

At least 55 records · Page 3

Precipitation of radiation belt electrons by man-made waves A comparison between theory and measurement

The temporal and spectral shape and the absolute flux level of particle pulses precipitated by a VLF transmitter are examined from a theoretical point of view. A test-particle model of the gyroresonant wave-particle interaction is applied to the parameters of the observed cases for calculating the precipitation characteristics. The temporal shapes of the precipitation pulses are found to be controlled (1) by the pitch angle dependence of the particle distribution near the edge of the loss cone and (2) by the multiple interaction of the particles with the waves due to significant atmospheric backscatter.

Inan, U. S.↗

Active experiments from ground

Recent ground-based stimulation and observations of ionospheric and magnetospheric phenomena are reported. The studies included amplification and emission generation by coherent ducted whistler mode signals in the magnetosphere, recipitation of radiation belt particles by the injection of VLF waves from ground-based sources, spectral broadening of the VLF signals during ionospheric propagation and the generation of ELF/VLF signals by HF heating of the auroral electrojet. The capabilities of controlled stimulation of the local terrestrial magnetic field environment provides the means for further investigations into the processes of energy exchange between waves and radiation belt particles and the interrelationships of the exchange with the energy coupling between the magnetosphere and ionosphere.

Inan, U. S.↗

DE-1/Siple VLF wave-injection experiments

Results of Siple/DE-1 VLF wave-injection/reception experiments indicate that the injected signals, while propagating in the magnetosphere in the non-ducted mode, are on occasion amplified, generate sidebands and trigger VLF emissions. The propagation paths include direct non-ducted paths as well as reflected modes involving propagation initially in a 'duct' followed by a reflected non-ducted path up to the satellite. Calibrated measurements of the wave magnetic and electric intensities are used to estimate the local refractive index.

Inan, U. S.↗

Perturbations of subionospheric LF and MF signals due to whistler-induced electron precipitation bursts

Increasing attention is now being devoted to the problem of the pitch angle scattering and resulting precipitation of magnetospheric energetic electrons by coherent waves. The present investigation has the objective to report the first evidence of a correlation between whistlers and amplitude perturbations on low-frequency (LF) signals at 37.2 kHz and medium-frequency (MF) signals at 780 kHz. Whistler-correlated amplitude perturbations were observed on a 780-kHz MF signal propagating on an approximately 1800 km path from South America to Palmer. The observed MF perturbations were of order 50 percent in amplitude and developed much more quickly than other changes of comparable magnitude on the signal.

Carpenter, D. L.↗

VLF wave-particle interaction experiments by EXOS-B/Siple station transmissions

The relationship between ground station signals and electron pitch angle distribution at L = 4 is reviewed, and signal intensity is discussed. There are two types of relationships between signals and electron distribution: (1) intensification of the signal by a distribution with a high pitch angle anisotropy of pancake type; and (2) triggering of emissions associated with transmissions by a high flux of electrons with low pitch angle anisotropy. The electric field intensity of ground signals is relatively low, which is consistent with those observed by IMP-6 and by a rocket.

Kimura, I.↗

Direct multiple path magnetospheric propagation - A fundamental property of nonducted VLF waves

An elongation of 20-200 ms, attributed to closely spaced multiple propagation paths between the satellite and the ground, is noted in well defined pulses observed by the ISEE 1 satellite in nonducted whistler mode signals from the Siple Station VLF transmitter. Electric field measurements show a 2 to 10 dB amplitude variation in the observed amplitude fading pattern which is also consistent with direct multiple path propagation. The results obtained for two cases, one outside and one inside the plasmapause, establish that the direct signals transmitted from the ground arrive almost simultaneously at any point in the magnetosphere along two or more closely spaced direct ray paths. It is also shown that multiple paths can be explained by assuming field-aligned irregularities, and the implications of these results for nonducted wave-particle interaction in the magnetosphere are discussed. For reasonable parameters of nonducted, multiple path propagation, a cyclotron-resonant electron will experience a wave Doppler broadening of a few tens to a few hundreds of Hz.

Sonwalkar, V. S.↗

Electron precipitation zones around major ground-based VLF signal sources

The spatial distribution of electron precipitation induced by VLF signals from ground-based transmitters is determined by using a test particle computer model of the gyroresonant wave-particle interaction (Inan et al., 1982). The results are presented as contours of energy flux on a map of the region around each transmitter. It is shown that the size of the precipitation zones is a strong function of the geographic location of the transmitter, as well as its radiated power and operating frequency. In general, the precipitation zones are much wider in longitude than in latitude and are oriented along lines of constant geomagnetic latitude. Assuming backscatter and/or wave echoing, precipitation zones around the points that are magnetically conjugate to the sources are also estimated. The results presented can be used to interpret satellite- or ground-based measurements of the precipitation induced by ground-based VLF transmitters.

Inan, U. S.↗

Modulated beam injection from the Space Shuttle during magnetic conjunctions of STS 3 with the DE 1 satellite

An electron beam emitted from the Office of Space Sciences 1 pallet on STS 3 was pulsed with specially designed very low frequency (VLF) formats in an attempt to generate whistler mode waves. Modulated operations of the beam emitted by a fast pulse electron generator (FPEG) were initiated during times of magnetic conjunctions between STS 3 and the high-altitude DE 1 satellite equipped with broadband VLF receivers. Coordinated FPEG/VLF modulation and DE 1 wideband data acquisition were achieved in 12 different cases. No evidence of any waves generated by FPEG were detected on the DE 1 analog wideband data. However, it is shown that in all of the cases, either the STS 3 attitude was such that the emitted electrons struck the main body of the vehicle, or it was not possible for whistler mode waves to propagate from the STS 3 location up to the vicinity of the DE 1 satellite.

Inan, U. S.↗

A theoretical model study of observed correlations between whistler mode waves and energetic electron precipitation events in the magnetosphere

A recently extended test particle computer model of the gyroresonance wave-particle interaction in the magnetosphere is applied to previously reported cases of observed correlations between whistler mode waves and ionospheric responses to particle precipitation. Three different ionospheric effects, namely, X-ray bursts, photoemissions, and D region perturbations, all correlated with VLF waves and believed to be caused by precipitated particles, are considered. The precipitation flux level, the pulse shape, and the associated time delays are computed for the parameters relevant to each case and are compared with values deduced from the data. The results demonstrate that the existing theoretical model can be useful for interpreting experimental results of this kind. Furthermore, the model results and observations, used together, provide a basis for additional diagnostics of the various parameters of the cold and energetic particle distributions in the magnetosphere. For example, when applied to the observed photoemission case (Helliwell et al., 1980) the model results imply that the trapped energetic particle distribution function at the time could be modeled as proportional to E exp -n/2 with n about 3.5 to 6, where E is the particle energy.

Chang, H. C.↗

Terrestrial versus Jovian VLF chorus - A comparative study

The relevant parameters of the magnetospheres of Jupiter and earth are investigated based on the wave-particle resonant interactions that are believed to be responsible for the generation of VLF chorus emissions observed on Voyager 1. Expressions are derived for the wave-particle interaction length and the nonlinearity parameter, and the values of these parameters are compared with those calculated for the earth's magnetosphere. It is determined that the typical interaction lengths are at least 2-5 times larger in the Jovian than in the terrestrial magnetosphere, and that the wave intensity necessary to reach the threshold of nonlinearity in the Jovian magnetosphere is 5-100 times lower. Measurements by Voyager 1 show that the inferred wave magnetic field intensities of the Jovian chorus are in the range of reported intensities for terrestrial chorus, probably due to the fact that the fluxes of few keV resonant particles found in the Jovian magnetosphere were typically two orders of magnitude higher. Growth rate measurements on Voyager 1 broadband wave data are employed to confirm that the temporal growth rates of Jovian chorus bursts are higher than for the earth.

Inan, U. S.↗

The apparent spectral broadening of VLF transmitter signals during transionospheric propagation

ISIS 1 and 2 and ISEE 1 VLF/ELF electric field wave data indicate the existence of a novel phenomenon, in which initially narrow band upgoing signals from ground-based VLF transmitters undergo a significant spectral broadening as they propagate through the ionosphere and protonosphere, up to altitudes in the 600-3800 km range. For transmitter signals in the 10-20 kHz range, the spectral broadening can be as high as 10 percent of the input signal's nominal frequency. In many cases, the bandwidth of the spectrally broadened signals is a strong function of the electric dipole antenna orientation with respect to the local direction of the earth's magnetic field. The unusual dispersion in the components of the spectrally broadened pulses suggests that the spectral broadening may be due to a Doppler shift effect in which the initial signals scatter from irregularities in the F region and couple into quasi-electrostatic modes of short wave length.

Bell, T. F.↗

EXOS-B/Siple station VLF wave-particle interaction experiments. I - General description and wave-particle correlations

The EXOS-B/Siple Station joint experiment on the triggering of VLF emissions by man-made signals causing some form of wave-particle interactions in the magnetosphere is presented, and results concerning wave-particle correlations are reported. In situ measurements of both energetic electron flux and VLF waves were made near the meridian connecting Siple Station, Antarctica with Roberval, Quebec, Canada in campaigns during July through September, 1979 and December 1979 through January 1980 at times of VLF transmission from Siple. Strong observed signals were found to be well correlated with a pancake pitch angle distribution of 0.3 to 6.9-keV electrons, and to exhibit a positive linear growth rate. Artificially stimulated emissions were observed to be accompanied by large electron fluxes in all energy channels in the equatorial interaction region, although the measured pitch angle distribution was not highly anisotropic. Results may be interpreted by the amplification of Siple signals by the cyclotron instability due to high pitch angle anisotropy (pancake distribution) and the triggering of emissions in the presence of high electron fluxes with some anisotropy and a sufficiently strong signal.

Kimura, I.↗

EXOS-B/Siple station VLF wave-particle interaction experiments. II - Transmitter signals and associated emissions

New observations in the magnetosphere of coherent VLF waves from the Siple Station, Antarctica, transmitter and associated VLF emissions triggered by the transmitter signals are reported. The data analyzed were acquired on the EXOS-B high-altitude satellite during the period July 15-September 7, 1979, during joint VLF wave-injection experiments involving scientists from Kyoto, Tokyo, and Stanford universities. The experiments were carried out to gain a deeper understanding of the interactions between coherent VLF waves and energetic particles in the magnetosphere, in particular, the whistler-mode instability through which both natural and stimulated VLF emissions are produced. Analysis of the emission-triggering events provides strong evidence that the triggering took place inside whistler-mode ducts and that the emissions reached the satellite only after being scattered at one end of the ducts by ionospheric irregularities. It is concluded that in the noon sector of the magnetosphere, the amplitude of nonducted signals from the Siple transmitter is generally less than the threshold level necessary for triggering in the nonducted mode.

Bell, T. F.↗

Quasi-relativistic electron precipitation due to interactions with coherent VLF waves in the magnetosphere

The equations of motion for the cyclotron resonance interaction between coherent whistler mode waves and energetic particles are rederived with the inclusion of relativistic effects. The pitch angle scattering of the near-loss-cone quasi-relativistic electrons trapped in the magnetosphere is studied using a test particle method employing these relativistic equations, and the precipitated energy spectrum due to the wave-induced perturbations of a full distribution of particles is computed. Results show that the full width at half maximum peak width of the rms scattering pattern of the near-loss-cone particles would give an upper bound to the peak width of the associated precipitated energy spectrum under the conditions of moderate wave intensities in the low L shell region. In addition, it is found that the peak widths are within the upper limit values measured by recent satellite experiments. It is concluded that interactions of inner radiation belt particles with monochromatic waves could produce precipitated fluxes with relatively sharp spectral widths, and that therefore the L-dependent narrow peaks observed by low altitude satellite particle detectors could be caused by such interactions.

Chang, H. C.↗

DE-1 observations of VLF transmitter signals and wave-particle interactions in the magnetosphere

A broadband VLF receiver on the DE-1 satellite measures signals injected into the magnetosphere by ground-based transmitters. VLF emissions triggered by these signals indicate that the waves interact strongly with trapped energetic particles in the magnetosphere. The propagation paths from the source to the satellite are deduced on the basis of the group time delay and Doppler shift. Although there are many different paths, emissions are triggered by the later-arriving pulses that have traversed the geomagnetic equator. First satellite-based observations of emission triggering by high-power communications transmitters and their possible implications are discussed.

Inan, U. S.↗

Particle precipitation induced by short-duration VLF waves in the magnetosphere

The present investigation has the objective to study the precipitation of energetic electrons into the ionosphere due to the interaction of these particles with short-duration VLF waves in the magnetosphere. The physics of the interaction is considered, taking into account the wave structure, the energetic particle distribution, wave-particle interaction, and the computation of the precipitated flux versus time. The obtained formulation is applied to various different magnetospheric conditions. Attention is also given to peak flux and total deposited energy. The results of the investigation demonstrate the role of the energetic particle distribution function, the normalized wave frequency, the L value of the path of propagation, the cold plasma density, and the wave intensity. The precipitated energy flux that would be observed at 1000-km altitude is presented as a function of time relative to the injection of the wave pulse at the same point.

Inan, U. S.↗