Cyclotron maser emission-Stars,planets and laboratory

Irena Vorgul (Lead Author), Barry J Kellett, Robert A Cairns, Kevin Ronald, Sandra L McConville , Karen Gillespie, Alan D R Phelps

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper is a review of results by the group over the past decade on auroral kilometric radiation and similar cyclotron emissions from stars and planets. These emissions are often attributed to a horseshoe or crescent shaped momentum distribution of energetic electrons moving into the convergent magnetic field which exists around polar regions of dipole-type stars and planets. We have established a laboratory-based facility that has verified many of the details of our original theoretical description and agrees well with numerical simulations. The experiment has demonstrated that the horseshoe distribution does indeed produce cyclotron emission at a frequency just below the local cyclotron frequency, with polarization close to X-mode and propagating nearly perpendicularly to the beam motion. We discuss recent developments in the theory and simulation of the instability including addressing a radiation escape problem and the effect of competing instabilities, relating these to the laboratory, space, and astrophysical observations.
Original languageEnglish
JournalPhysics of Plasmas
Volume18
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes

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