Plasma Simulation of Ion Acceleration by Lower Hybrid Waves in the Suprauroral Region.

摘要

The generation of lower hybrid waves below field aligned potential drops and the effect of the resulting turbulence on the ion population in the suprauroral region are studied using particle plasma simulations. To describe the ion acceleration observed in the simulation, a theoretical model is developed using mode mode coupling processes to generate the low phase velocity Very Low Frequency waves with which the ions first interact. Scaling the simulation results shows that interaction between the ions and the lower hybrid waves can account for the acceleration necessary to produce suprauroral energetic ion conic events. Keywords: Ionospheric dynamics; Magnetospheric dynamics; Plasma physics; Ion acceleration; Hybrid waves; Reprints.