Date of Award

Spring 2022

Access Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering Physics

Department

College of Arts & Sciences

Committee Chair

Anatoly V. Streltsov

First Committee Member

Muhammad O. Farooq

Second Committee Member

Bereket Berhane

Abstract

The thesis presents the results of all the research from the published and in publication process research in the Journal of Geophysical Research [1]. This research focuses on whistler wave ducting events in the equatorial magnetosphere. High-density ducts are the main focus of whistler study in both studies as they are commonly observed by the Van Allen Probe satellites. A three-step procedure based on the analysis of the whistler wave dispersion relation and numerical simulations of the electron magnetohydrodynamics model. We use this model to identify the parallel and perpendicular wave numbers of the “most trapped” wave in an attempt to understand the filtering aspects of HDD. Statistical analysis was done in a separate study to determine common parameters and characteristics of narrow and wide ducting events. A total of 213 events were cataloged where 164 were narrow events. The narrow HDD were found to most commonly have a duct size between 0-50 km with a density increase of 161% in the background magnetic field range of 100-300 nT. Wide events are events were the background magnetic field and the density gradient vary in the same direction, either both increases or decreases. The results from the studies show a robust three-step procedure that was applied to an observed event as well as the common characteristics and catalog of events in which this procedure is applicable.

Download

Share

COinS