The role of lower-hybrid-wave collapse in the auroral ionosphere.
In regions where lower-hybrid solitary structures (LHSS) are observed, the character of auroral lower-hybrid turbulence (LHT) (0-20 kHz) is investigated using the amplitude probability distribution of the electric field. The observed probability distributions are accurately described by a Rayleigh distribution with two degrees of freedom. The statistics of the LHT exhibit no evidence of the global modulational instability or self-similar wave collapse. We conclude that nucleation and resonant scattering in preexisting density depletions are the processes responsible for LHSS in auroral LHT.
Schuck
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PW
Plasma Physics Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Code 6794, 4555 Overlook Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20375-5000, USA. schuck@ppdmail.nrl.navy.mil
Ganguli
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GI
Kintner
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PM