Possible Mechanism for Damping of Electrostatic Instability Related to Inhomogeneous Distribution of Energy Density in the Auroral Ionosphere


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Abstract

Satellite observations show that the electrostatic instability, which is expected to occur in most cases due to an inhomogeneous energy density caused by a strongly inhomogeneous transverse electric field (shear of plasma convection velocity), occasionally does not develop inside nonlinear plasma structures in the auroral ionosphere, even though the velocity shear is sufficient for its excitation. In this paper, it is shown that the instability damping can be caused by out-of-phase variations of the electric field and field-aligned current acting in these structures. Therefore, the mismatch of sources of free energy required for the wave generation nearly nullifies their common effect.

About the authors

I. V. Golovchanskaya

Polar Geophysical Institute

Email: achernyshov@iki.rssi.ru
Russian Federation, Apatity, 184209

B. V. Kozelov

Polar Geophysical Institute

Email: achernyshov@iki.rssi.ru
Russian Federation, Apatity, 184209

A. A. Chernyshov

Space Research Institute

Author for correspondence.
Email: achernyshov@iki.rssi.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow, 117997

A. A. Ilyasov

Space Research Institute

Email: achernyshov@iki.rssi.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow, 117997

M. M. Mogilevsky

Space Research Institute

Email: achernyshov@iki.rssi.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow, 117997

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