SPACE AND COSMIC RAY PHYSICS SEMINAR

University of Maryland
Atlantic Building, Room 2400 4:30 PM Monday, November 24, 2014
Coffee, Tea & Snacks 4:15-4:30 PM

Aram Vartanyan
University of Maryland

Whistler Wave Generation by Continuous High Frequency Heating of the Upper Ionosphere

We present the very first clear experimental observations of whistler waves generated by continuous heating of the upper ionosphere using the HAARP facility. The proposed generation mechanism relies on parametrically excited Lower-Hybrid (LH) waves and their linear and non-linear mode-conversion to whistler waves. After generalizing an existing LH-whistler conversion model, simulation results are presented that are in good agreement with the observed whistler wave spectrum. A combination of qualitative discussions and simulation results explains certain peculiarities observed in the spectrum.

Sponsored by: Department of Physics and the Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland. For information visit the UMD Space Physics group seminar web site at https://space.umd.edu/seminars/.