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Diffuse auroral precipitation driven by lower-band chorus second harmonics

Author

Listed:
  • Xiongdong Yu

    (School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University)

  • Zhigang Yuan

    (School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University)

  • Jiang Yu

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

  • Dedong Wang

    (GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences)

  • Dan Deng

    (School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University)

  • H. O. Funsten

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los)

Abstract

Diffuse aurora at the Earth’s high latitude regions is mainly caused by the low-energy (0.1–30 keV) electron precipitation which carries the major energy flux into the nightside upper atmosphere. Previous studies have demonstrated that combined scattering by the upper- and lower- band chorus waves acts as the dominant cause of diffuse auroral precipitation, but that is not necessarily the case as these two types of waves do not always occur simultaneously, with the lower-band more often. Here we report that the lower-band chorus satisfying the preferred condition can generate their second harmonics so as to trigger the diffuse auroral electron precipitation. We find that the lower-band chorus alone can only cause the precipitation of electrons greater than 4 keV, while the self-consistently generated second harmonic is weak but still able to result in the electron precipitation below 4 keV. The combined effect of those modes results in the observed pancake electron distributions and the diffuse aurora. Our results clearly demonstrate an alternative but universal mechanism of chorus-driven diffuse aurora in the Earth, which may also apply to the auroral formation in other planetary magnetospheres.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiongdong Yu & Zhigang Yuan & Jiang Yu & Dedong Wang & Dan Deng & H. O. Funsten, 2023. "Diffuse auroral precipitation driven by lower-band chorus second harmonics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-36095-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36095-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard M. Thorne & Binbin Ni & Xin Tao & Richard B. Horne & Nigel P. Meredith, 2010. "Scattering by chorus waves as the dominant cause of diffuse auroral precipitation," Nature, Nature, vol. 467(7318), pages 943-946, October.
    2. S. Kasahara & Y. Miyoshi & S. Yokota & T. Mitani & Y. Kasahara & S. Matsuda & A. Kumamoto & A. Matsuoka & Y. Kazama & H. U. Frey & V. Angelopoulos & S. Kurita & K. Keika & K. Seki & I. Shinohara, 2018. "Pulsating aurora from electron scattering by chorus waves," Nature, Nature, vol. 554(7692), pages 337-340, February.
    3. Jacob Bortnik & Richard M. Thorne & Nigel P. Meredith, 2008. "The unexpected origin of plasmaspheric hiss from discrete chorus emissions," Nature, Nature, vol. 452(7183), pages 62-66, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Haruhiko Saitoh & Masaki Nishiura & Naoki Kenmochi & Zensho Yoshida, 2024. "Experimental study on chorus emission in an artificial magnetosphere," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.

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