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A Theory of Interaction Between Relativistic Electrons and Magnetospherically Reflected Whistlers
Author(s) -
Shklyar David R.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1029/2020ja028799
Subject(s) - whistler , physics , magnetosphere , wave packet , computational physics , earth's magnetic field , electron , quantum electrodynamics , electromagnetic radiation , plasma , van allen radiation belt , wave–particle duality , classical mechanics , magnetic field , atomic physics , quantum mechanics
Whistlers that originate from lightning strokes are among the prevalent wave phenomena in the magnetosphere, which makes their interactions with magnetospheric plasma particles of particular importance. We develop a theory that takes into account the main features of this interaction, namely, the space‐time boundedness of wave packets representing magnetospherically reflected whistlers, and the variation of frequency, wave normal vector, and amplitude inside wave packets. We take into account the inhomogeneity of the ambient plasma and the geomagnetic field, as well as relativistic effects in particle dynamics. A particular emphasis is placed on energy exchange between resonant particles as an intrinsic component part of wave‐particle interaction in plasma.