Scientists have identified electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves, a form of plasma waves at India’s Maitri Antarctic Station, and studied its characteristics. These waves play an important role in knocking out killer electrons (electrons with speeds close to the speed of light that make up planet Earth’s radiation belt) that are dangerous to our space technology/instruments.
The impact of energetic particles in radiation belts on low orbit satellites plasma
•More than 99% of the matter in the visible universe is plasma. Our Sun, the solar wind, the interplanetary medium, the near-Earth region, the magnetosphere (the cavity in which the Earth lies and remains protected from the Sun’s wrath), and the upper part of our atmosphere are composed of plasma – the fourth state of matter.
• The study of plasma waves provides us with information about regions that are inaccessible to us, how they transport matter and energy across different regions, how they interact with charged particles and control the overall dynamics of the Earth’s magnetosphere.
•One such wave is the electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC), passing plasma waves observed in the Earth’s magnetosphere. They can resonate with electrons over a wide energy range from 500 keV to hundreds of MeV and cause them to precipitate into the high latitude atmosphere.
A team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG), an autonomous institute of the DST, analyzed data collected between 2011 and 2017 by the induction magnetometer data installed at India’s Maitr Antarctic Station to reveal several aspects of ground-based observation. EMIC waves. They identified the place of wave generation in space and also proposed that lower frequency waves modulate higher frequency waves in form plasma.
First attempt to explore modulation characteristics of plasma
This first attempt to explore modulation characteristics using big data to present a statistical scenario of EMIC wave modulation at the Maitri ground station, published in JGR Space Physics, showed that short-term modulation of such wave events is common and depends on EMIC. wave frequency.
In addition, the short period decreases as the peak frequency of the EMIC wave increases, and stronger EMIC wave events are likely to have a higher peak frequency. Such a study is important for improving our understanding of the modulation of EMIC waves and how they interact with the energetic particles that affect satellites and their communications.
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