Short-wave boundary of the Farley-Buneman instability in the region of the auroral electrojet
Abstract
The short-wave boundary of the Farley-Buneman instability in the auroral plasma is investigated as a function of electric field, electron density, and height in the ionosphere. It is shown that the minimum length of a linearly unstable wave is equal to 10 cm. Three-wave interaction processes can lead to the nonlinear generation of waves that are roughly half this length. The present analysis makes possible a satisfactory explanation of centimeter-band radar observations.
- Publication:
-
Geomagnetism and Aeronomy
- Pub Date:
- June 1988
- Bibcode:
- 1988Ge&Ae..28..384Z
- Keywords:
-
- Auroral Electrojets;
- Ionospheric Electron Density;
- Magnetohydrodynamic Stability;
- Electric Fields;
- Wave Interaction