Open AccessProperties of obliquely propagating chorus
Author(s) -
Verkhoglyadova Olga P.,
Tsurutani Bruce T.,
Lakhina Gurbax S.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2009ja014809
Subject(s) - physics , whistler , elliptical polarization , polarization (electrochemistry) , electric field , magnetic field , plane wave , pitch angle , circular polarization , computational physics , scattering , electron , wave propagation , optics , linear polarization , quantum electrodynamics , geophysics , quantum mechanics , laser , chemistry
We discuss chorus wave magnetic and electric field polarizations as functions on angle of propagation relative to the ambient magnetic field B 0 . For the first time, it is shown using a cold plasma approximation that the general whistler wave has circularly polarized magnetic fields for oblique propagation. This theoretical result is verified by observations. The electric field polarization plane is not orthogonal to the wave vector k and is in general highly elliptically polarized. Both the magnetic and the electric polarizations have important consequences for cyclotron resonant electron pitch angle scattering and for electron energization, respectively. A special case of the whistler wave called the Gendrin mode is discussed.