Nonlinear wave-particle interactions in Whistler-Mode Chorus waves: modulation as a route to rising and falling tones

Whistler-Mode Chorus (WMC) waves are an important contributor to the dynamics of the magnetosphere, not only for their prevalence in measured observations of near-Earth space but also for their dominant role in transporting energy and particles throughout it. It is therefore of key importance to space weather modelling that we understand how WMC waves are generated, how they subsequently evolve and how they interact with the particle populations that they transport. There are also fundamental physics question to answer as WMC waves display nonlinear phenomena rarely seen in other fields, including their ability to raise and lower their frequency repeatedly and rapidly leading to rising and falling tone waves respectively. Are the interactions between the wave and the particles driving such phenomena, and if so to what degree are they doing so?

 

In this talk, we revisit the nonlinear evolution of WMC waves from a theoretical perspective.  Wave-particle interactions are shown to be a key driver of the modulational instabilities that lead to element and subelement formation which are well represented by an extension of the well-known Nonlinear Schrodinger equation. Simulations of this yields power spectrum reminiscent of the rising and falling tone emissions observed in mission data from the Van Allen probes, THEMIS, MMS and Cluster and determines that that wave-particle interactions are the primary cause of this effect. As a result, this nonlinear theory indicates regimes in which these frequency sweeps can be enhanced or dampened, and suggests why the WMC band gap at half the gyrofrequency exists.