Influence of density variations of ionosphere plasma on the conditions of electromagnetic whistler waves propagation in the ionosphere

Abstract

Background. Plasma density variations caused by infrasonic wave can significantly affect conditions of propagation and reflection of whistler electromagnetic wave incident on the ionosphere from above. Aim. In that work, relationship between the coefficient of wave energy reflection from ionosphere, electromagnetic wave field near the ground surface and parameters of infrasonic wave are studied. Methods. The collocation method for solving the boundary problem for a plane-layered ionosphere and the perturbation theory method are used to find the electromagnetic wave field. Results. The greatest modulation of the reflection coefficient is associated with density perturbations at altitudes 80–110 km where whistler decay increases by an order of magnitude at the local altitude region (less than 15–20 km). In that case, the reflection coefficient variation can achieve 40 %. Conclusion. The results obtained are important for understanding the interconnection of magnetosphere radiation processes of different nature. The study of the modulation of coefficient of whistler reflection from the ionosphere is relevant for explaining the operation modes of a plasma magnetospheric maser.

Keywords

• ionosphere
• magnetosphere
• whistler wave
• infrasonic wave
• reflection coefficient