Line radiation events: Properties, generation, and propagation

Whistler-mode waves propagating in the Earth’s inner magnetosphere sometimes appear as a set of nearly constant frequency elements separated by a fixed frequency. Such events are typically called line radiation, and they can have two distinct origins. First, events with narrow spectral lines and the frequency spacing corresponding to the base power system frequency (50/100 or 60/120 Hz) are generated by electromagnetic radiation from electric power systems on the ground (power line harmonic radiation, PLHR). Second, waves with broader spectral lines, whose frequency spacing does not correspond to the power system frequency, are believed to be generated by plasma instabilities in the magnetosphere (magnetospheric line radiation, MLR).

Frequencies of line radiation events are typically on the order of a few kHz, while their frequency spacing is on the order of a hundred Hz. Relevant spacecraft observations at larger radial distances are thus very sparse due to the typically low frequency resolution of available measurements, not sufficient to distinguish the line structure. We use high-resolution multicomponent wave measurements performed by the EMFISIS instrument on board the Van Allen Probes during the burst mode to fill this observational gap. We systematically identify the line radiation events and analyze their occurrence and properties. Detailed wave propagation analysis allows us to reveal wave propagation throughout the magnetosphere. We further show that the frequency spacing of MLR events appears to be related to an electrostatic wave observed at the corresponding frequency (≈100 Hz). Finally, conjugate observations performed by the Kannuslehto station in Finland are used to estimate the spatial extent of the events.