Characteristics of Langmuir electric field waveforms and power spectra exhibiting nonlinear behavior in Earth's foreshock

Langmuir wave characteristics in the Earth's foreshock were examined to identify possible nonlinear wave behavior for two case studies with data from the Cluster Wideband Data Plasma Wave Receiver. The occurrence rates of four types of power spectra near the foreshock edge were determined: (1)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 2010-10, Vol.115 (A10), p.n/a
Main Authors: Sigsbee, K., Kletzing, C. A., Pickett, J. S., Gurnett, D. A., Schwartz, S. J., Lefebvre, B., Lucek, E., Fazakerley, A. N., Kucharek, H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astrophysics
Atmospheric sciences
bow shock
Decay
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Electric fields
electron beams
electrostatic decay
Exact sciences and technology
foreshock
Langmuir waves
Magnetism
Modulational instability
Planetology
Plasma physics
Scientific apparatus & instruments
Space
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Summary:Langmuir wave characteristics in the Earth's foreshock were examined to identify possible nonlinear wave behavior for two case studies with data from the Cluster Wideband Data Plasma Wave Receiver. The occurrence rates of four types of power spectra near the foreshock edge were determined: (1) spectra with power at the local plasma frequency fpe only, (2) spectra with power at fpe and 2fpe, (3) spectra with double peaks near fpe, and (4) spectra with double peaks near fpe and peaks at low frequencies indicative of ion acoustic waves. For electric field waveform amplitudes between 0.1 and 22.0 mV/m, most power spectra fell into the fpe only and double‐peaked categories. The maximum Langmuir wave amplitudes and bump‐on‐tail reduced electron distribution functions from Cluster PEACE data were more consistent with saturation of wave growth by electrostatic decay than modulational instabilities. However, few spectra had the double peaks near fpe and ion acoustic waves indicative of electrostatic decay, suggesting other processes may also be at work. For amplitudes greater than 22.0 mV/m, most power spectra fell into the fpe and 2fpe category, but many of the harmonics were too weak to be clearly distinguished from harmonics caused by instrumental effects.
ISSN:0148-0227
2169-9380
2156-2202
2169-9402
DOI:10.1029/2009JA014948