Precision Determination of Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Connectivity Using Radar Detection of Ionization Patches Produced by Energetic Electron Beams

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2423 Ionization Mechanisms, 2435 Ionospheric Disturbances, 2494 Instruments And Techniques, 2740 Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics, 2794 Instruments And Techniques

Scientific paper

Most observations of space plasmas are in situ determinations in which a variety of instruments determine the full particle and field spectra in the immediate environment of the spacecraft. We often would like to relate these observations to concurrent observations in other regions of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system, particularly auroral displays in the conjugate ionosphere, but we have no way to do this with any confidence or precision. Because of our poor knowledge of magnetic connectivity between different regions of geospace, we are often in situations where we argue endlessly over the physical significance of various processes without any hope of resolution. In this paper, we consider a new method for finding and tracking the precise location of the ionospheric footprint of a magnetospheric spacecraft. Specifically, we consider the ionization products of a pulsed energetic electron beam emanating from the spacecraft along the magnetic field and impinging on the ionosphere. For nominal currents and pulse durations, this beam will produce overdense ionization patches in the conjugate D and lower-E regions that can be readily detected with the HF radars of the SuperDARN network. Very strong signal responses (40-60 dB above the radar noise level) will be observed for periods ranging from 1-2 seconds following each beam pulse. The detection of these signatures is quite similar to the detection of meteor echoes, although the signature decay for meteor echoes is through diffusion, whereas the decay for these echoes is through the slower process of recombination. We present some of the results of our analyses and simulations.

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