Abstract
We have restudied electron beam driven whistler waves with a 3-D electromagnetic particle code. In the initialisation of the beam-plasma system, ''quiet start'' conditions were approached by including the poloidal magnetic field due to the current carried by beam electrons streaming along a background magnetic field. The simulation results show electromagnetic whistler wave emissions and electrostatic beam modes like those observed in the Spacelab 2 electron beam experiment. It has been suggested in the past that the spatial bunching of beam electrons associated with the beam mode may directly generate whistler waves. However, the simulation results indicate several inconsistencies with this picture: (1) the parallel (to the background magnetic field) wavelength of the whistler wave is longer than that of the beam instability, (2) the parallel phase velocity of the whistler wave is smaller than that of the beam mode, and (3) whistler waves continue to be generated even after the beam mode space charge modulation looses its coherence. The complex structure of the whistler waves in the vicinity of the beam suggest that the transverse motion (gyration) of the beam and background electrons is involved in the generation of the whistler waves.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Active Experiments in Space Plasmas |
Publisher | Pergamon Press |
Publication date | 1995 |
Pages | 17-20 |
ISBN (Print) | 0-08-042620-4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1995 |
Externally published | Yes |
Event | D4.1 Symposium of COSPAR Scientific Commission D on Active Experiments in Space Plasmas, at the 30th COSPAR Scientific Assembly - Hamburg, Germany Duration: 11 Jul 1994 → 21 Jul 1994 Conference number: 30 |
Conference
Conference | D4.1 Symposium of COSPAR Scientific Commission D on Active Experiments in Space Plasmas, at the 30th COSPAR Scientific Assembly |
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Number | 30 |
Country/Territory | Germany |
City | Hamburg |
Period | 11/07/1994 → 21/07/1994 |
Series | Advances in Space Research |
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Number | 12 |
Volume | 15 |
ISSN | 0273-1177 |