Dispersive changes in magnetic background noise polarization at 0.1 to 6Hz during sunset and sunrise at L=1.3

Polarization properties of the magnetic background noise (MBN) and the spectral resonance structure (SRS) of the ionospheric Alfvén resonator (IAR) below the first Schumann resonance but above 0.1 Hz are measured by a sensitive pulsation magnetometer at the island of Crete (<i>L</i>=1.3) and analyzed using the existing SRS theory by Belyaev et al. (1989b). The focus of the paper is on the systematic changes in the MBN and SRS properties associated with the transition from a sunlit to a dark ionosphere (sunset) and vice versa (sunrise). We are able to pinpoint in observations an E-region and F-region terminator effect and to simulate it by means of a simple ionosphere model, implying the formalism given by Belyaev et al. (1989b). The E-region terminator effect is associated with an apparent control for the SRS presence or absence with no clear frequency dispersion in polarization properties, whereas the F-region terminator effect exhibits strong frequency dispersion, especially in the low frequency range. This yields a change in the ellipticity of MBN, starting as early as 2 to 3h ahead of the "zero-line" of the terminator. In a 24h presentation of the ellipticity versus frequency and time, the sunrise/sunset effect produces a sharp, dispersive boundary between night and day (day and night). Only inside this boundary, during the night hours, is SRS observed, at times accompanied by a large quasi-periodic long period modulation in the azimuthal angle of the major axis of the polarization ellipse. Attention is also paid to peculiarities in the low frequency range (~0.1Hz), where especially large changes in the polarization properties occur in association with the passage of the terminator. The F-region effect is very distinct and well reproduced by our simple model. Changes in the azimuth associated with the E-region terminator effect are of the order of 20&deg

Two satellite study of substorm expansion near geosynchronous orbit

During several time intervals in 1979–1980 the satellites GEOS-2 and SCATHA were situated relatively close on the nightside of the Earth at geosynchronous distances. Several substorm events were identified during these periods. The event considered in this paper was recorded on 22 May 1979, when the satellites were separated by less than 30min in local time around 21:00 LT. The observed 45 to 60 s delay of magnetic signatures observed at the two s/c indicates a westward expansion of ~7.7°/min. At the two s/c, the magnetic signatures are, in particular for the azimuthal magnetic field components, quite different. At GEOS-2, being close to the magnetic equator, the dominant feature is a dipolarization with a weak field-aligned current signature corresponding to a symmetric current which cancels at the equator. On SCATHA, however, being close to the current sheet boundary, the azimuthal magnetic field indicates a strong field-aligned Birkeland current structure. On both s/c the first indication of an approaching substorm was an increase in the high energy ion flux followed by a reduction in the flux intensity of energetic electrons and a further tailward stretching of the magnetic field, starting ~2min before the onset of the magnetic field dipolarization. The tailward stretching, the observed variations of the magnetic field components, and the subsequent dipolarization are interpreted in terms of an azimuthally tilted field-aligned current system passing the s/c on the tailward side from east to west. The westward expansion and dipolarization observed at the two s/c are consistent with the propagation of a Rayleigh-Taylor type instability. The increased radial ion flux corresponds to the <i><b>E</b></i>x<i><b>B</b></i>-drift due to the substorm associated electric field.<br><br> <b>Key words.</b> Magnetospheric physics (storms and substorms; plasma waves and instabilities; current systems

Using ultra-low frequency waves and their characteristics to diagnose key physics of substorm onset

Substorm onset is marked in the ionosphere by the sudden brightening of an existing auroral arc or the creation of a new auroral arc. Also present is the formation of auroral beads, proposed to play a key role in the detonation of the substorm, as well as the development of the large-scale substorm current wedge (SCW ), invoked to carry the current diversion. Both these phenomena, auroral beads and the SCW, have been intimately related to ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves of specific frequencies as observed by ground-based magnetometers. We present a case study of the absolute and relative timing of Pi1 and Pi2 ULF wave bands with regard to a small substorm expansion phase onset. We find that there is both a location and frequency dependence for the onset of ULF waves. A clear epicentre is observed in specific wave frequencies concurrent with the brightening of the substorm onset arc and the presence of “auroral beads”. At higher and lower wave frequencies, different epicentre patterns are revealed, which we conclude demonstrate different characteristics of the onset process; at higher frequencies, this epicentre may demonstrate phase mixing, and at intermediate and lower frequencies these epicentres are characteristic of auroral beads and cold plasma approximation of the “Tamao travel time” from near-earth neutral line reconnection and formation of the SCW

Design, Construction and Thermal Measurements on a Detector Box for the Inner Tracker of the LHCb Experiment

This note gives an overview of the design of the Inner Tracker detector boxes used for the LHCb experiment. We report on the fabrication of the first prototype box and present thermal measurements of a detector box under the expected full heat load. The data are compared to a phenomenological model

Magnetic-inclination effects in the spectral resonance structure of the ionospheric Alfvén resonator

Based on recent developments in the formalism governing the spectral resonance structures (SRS) of the Ionospheric Alfvén resonator (IAR) as observed on the Earth's surface, a numerical code was developed to investigate properties of SRS which can in particular be contributed to magnetic inclination effects. Among the theoretical findings are: 1) SRS is discernible in both orthogonal components, 2) the harmonic structure of SRS is not anymore over frequency equidistantly distributed, 3) the frequency scales of SRS differ in the two normal modes. The theoretically predicted properties could be found in the observations of a low latitude and some of them even in the data of a mid latitude station. The verification, however, is not as straight forward because the predicted effects do not only depend on magnetic inclination but also on the wave angle of the lightning induced electromagnetic wave k-vector with the normal to the magnetic meridian passing through the observation site. So far the formalism is simplified as it deals with a single source situation alone whereas the actual observation is a composite of excitations caused by an average of about 60 flashes of lightning operating all the time, world-wide

A quantitative analysis of the diurnal evolution of Ionospheric Alfvén resonator magnetic resonance features and calculation of changing IAR parameters

Resonance features of the Ionospheric Alfvén Resonator (IAR) can be observed in pulsation magnetometer data from Sodankylä, Finland using dynamic spectra visualizations. IAR resonance features were identified on 13 of 30 days in October 1998, with resonance structures lasting for 3 or more hours over 10 intervals. The diurnal evolution of the harmonic features was quantified for these 10 intervals using a manual cursor-clicking technique. The resonance features displayed strong linear relationships between harmonic frequency and harmonic number for all of the time intervals studied, enabling a homogeneous cavity model for the IAR to be adopted to interpret the data. This enabled the diurnal variation of the effective size of the IAR to be obtained for each of the 10 time intervals. The average effective size was found to be 530 km, and to have an average variation of 32% over each time interval: small compared to the average variation in Alfvén velocity of 61%. Thus the diurnal variation of the harmonics is chiefly caused by the changing plasma density within the IAR due to changing insolation. This study confirms Odzimek&nbsp;(2004) that the dominating factor affecting the IAR eigenfrequencies is the variation in the Alfvén velocity at the F-layer ion-density peak, with the changing IAR size affecting the IAR eigenfrequencies to a smaller extent. Another IAR parameter was derived from the analysis of the IAR resonance features associated with the phase matching structure of the standing waves in the IAR. This parameter varied over the time intervals studied by 20% on average, possibly due to changing ionospheric conductivity.<p> <b>Keywords.</b> Ionosphere (Auroral ionosphere;Wave propagation) – Radio science (Electromagnetic noise and interference