X-mode HF Pump-induced Phenomena at High Heater Frequencies in the High Latitude Ionosphere F-region

Abstract:

Experimental results concentrating on X-mode HF-induced phenomena in the high latitude ionosphere F region are discussed. Experiments have been carried out at the HF Heating facility at Tromsø with an effective radiated power of 450 – 650 MW at high heater frequencies of 6.2 – 8.0 MHz. Multi-instriment diagnostics included the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) UHF radar at 931 MHz at Tromsø, the Finland CUTLASS (Co-operative UK Twin Located Auroral Sounding System) radar, the stimulated electromagnetic emission (SEE) equipment at Tromsø, and the HF receiver near St. Petersburg for the observations of narrow band SEE features. The key parameter considered is the ratio between the heater frequency and critical frequency of the F2 layer (f_H/foF2). We have analyzed the behaviors of small-scale artificial field-aligned irregularities (FAIs) and HF-enhanced plasma and ion lines (HFPLs and HFILs) depending on the pump proximity to the critical frequency. It was shown that the HFPLs and HFILs coexisted with FAIs throughout the whole heater pulse when f_H/foF2 > 1 as well as f_H/foF2 ≤ 1. It is indicative that parametric decay instability was not quenched by fully developed FAIs. The comparison between contrasting O/X mode HF-induced phenomena, when the heater frequency is below or near the critical frequency of F2 layer, is made. It was found that an X-mode HF pumping is able to excite different narrow band spectral components in the SEE spectra (within 1 kHz of pump frequency), such as ion acoustic, electrostatic ion cyclotron, and electrostatic ion cyclotron harmonic waves (otherwise known as neutralized ion Bernstein waves) observed at a long distance from the HF Heating facility. It was suggested that these spectral component can be attributed to the stimulated Brillion scatter (SBS) process. The results obtained show that an X-polarized electromagnetic wave scattered by SBS can propagate more than one thousand km without significant attenuation.