Propagation Characteristics of Whistler-Mode Chorus during Geomagnetic Activities

• Published in: Chinese physics letters Vol. 27; no. 5; pp. 170 - 173
• Main Author: 周庆华 贺艺华 何兆国 杨昶
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 01.05.2010
• Subjects: 传播特性; 位置移动; 地球轨道; 地磁活动; 密度模型; 等离子体; 计算结果; 跟踪方法
• ISSN: 0256-307X; 1741-3540
• DOI: 10.1088/0256-307x/27/5/055204

A recently introduced ray-tracing method is adopted to study the propagation characteristics of whistler-mode chorus during different geomagnetic activities by using a global core plasma density model. Numerical calculations show that chorus waves tend to settle on a preferable magnetic shell L in the vicinity of the plasmapause. During high geomagnetic activity, the plasmapause position moves inward close to the Earth and chorus trajectories move inward together with plasmapause. The trajectory move closer to the plasmapause as θ increases. Chorus wave with lower frequencies will reflect multiple times while chorus wave with higher frequencies reflect once at the plasmapause before settling on the vicinity of the plasmapause. The current results present a first detailed study on the propagation characteristics of chorus during geomagnetic activities, and may account for the observation that chorus tends to be present in the vicinity of the plasmapause.