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Electron acceleration by Landau resonance with whistler mode wave packets
Author(s) -
Gurnett D. A.,
Reinleitner L. A.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl010i008p00603
Subject(s) - physics , whistler , electron , trapping , acceleration , resonance (particle physics) , landau quantization , landau damping , wave packet , magnetic field , computational physics , atomic physics , classical mechanics , quantum mechanics , ecology , biology
Recent observations of electrostatic waves associated with whistler mode chorus emissions provide evidence that electrons are being trapped by Landau resonance interactions with the chorus. In this paper we discuss the trapping, acceleration and escape of electrons in Landau resonance with a whistler mode wave packet. We show that acceleration can occur by both inhomogeneous and dispersive effects. The maximum energy gained is controlled by the points where trapping and escape occur. Large energy changes are possible if the frequency of the wave packet or the magnetic field strength increase between the trapping and escape points. Various trapping and escape mechanisms are discussed.