Medium-latitude sources of plasmaspheric nonthermal continuum radiations observed close to harmonics of the electron gyrofrequency

S. Grimald (1) , Pierrette Décréau (1) , P. Canu (2) , A. Rochel (1) , Xavier Vallières (1)

1 LPC2E - Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace
2 CETP - Centre d'étude des environnements terrestre et planétaires

Nonthermal continuum (NTC) radiation is, with auroral kilometric radiation (AKR), one of the two electromagnetic emissions generated within the Earth's magnetosphere and radiated into space. It is generally believed that NTC is emitted in the plasmapause density gradient after conversion of intense electrostatic waves, present near the magnetic equator, into electromagnetic waves. In this paper, we present a specific type of NTC event, of infrequent occurrence, displaying a finger-like pattern not yet reported: banded emissions peaking at exact multiples of a common frequency, df, which decrease inbound toward the plasmapause boundary layer (PPBL). Analysis is presented that indicates that the corresponding sources are nearby sites of the PPBL where the local electron gyrofrequency f(ce) equals df. The sources are radiating beams of limited cone angle size. The NTC sources for this event are shown to be located at about 20 degrees magnetic latitude. This illustrates that the PPBL is active in radiating NTC waves not only near the magnetic equator but also up to the medium-latitude range.

Domains: Geophysics [physics.geo-ph]; Space Physics [physics.space-ph]

S. Grimald, Pierrette Décréau, P. Canu, A. Rochel, Xavier Vallières. Medium-latitude sources of plasmaspheric nonthermal continuum radiations observed close to harmonics of the electron gyrofrequency. Journal of Geophysical Research Space Physics, 2008, 113 (A11), pp.A11216. ⟨10.1029/2008JA013290⟩. ⟨insu-02871336⟩