Electron Acceleration in the Aurora and BeyondCRC Press, 1998 M10 1 - 311 pages How did electrons in the high atmosphere and space around the Earth come to acquire their speeds and energies? This intriguing question lies at the heart of understanding how high-energy electrons create the spectacular displays of the ^IAurora Borealis and ^IAurora Australis. Electron Acceleration in the Aurora and Beyond explores the mysteries of these phenomena and others involving the acceleration of electrons in the magnetosphere, in the solar wind, at the Sun and in the Cosmos. This book presents a new approach to understanding this fascinating subject by treating the acceleration medium as a plasma. Using this new insight we can see that electron acceleration may well be caused by waves rather than steady potential differences. This unique approach is clearly explained in a lively and engaging style. Quantitative formulae, experiments, practical demonstrations and computer programs enable us to investigate for ourselves how the model works. The theory is further illustrated by comparing acceleration in space with particle accelerators in the nuclear physics laboratory (and even on the sports field!) Questions and exercises with answers are supplied to stimulate further thinking. ^IElectron Acceleration in the Aurora and Beyond is a thought-provoking book for graduate and post-doctoral space scientists. |
Contents
Acceleration principles | 1 |
The arena | 65 |
Electron acceleration in the aurora | 99 |
Electron acceleration at the Earths bow shock | 164 |
Electron acceleration in the neighbourhood of artificial comets | 184 |
Electron acceleration in solarwind events | 196 |
Electron acceleration at the Earths magnetopause | 205 |
Electron acceleration in the Earths magnetosphere | 216 |
Electron acceleration at the Sun | 228 |
Electron acceleration in the Cosmos | 245 |
Reflections | 255 |
Key formulae | 276 |
285 | |
Questions and exercises | 294 |
Answers to questions | 303 |
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Common terms and phrases
acceleration region altitude approximately atmosphere auroral arc auroral electron boundary layer bow shock Bryant D A centre Chapter charged particles collisions compression cosmic rays count rate deflection detector distance drift Earth electric field electron acceleration electron distribution Electron energy distributions electrostatic entropy factor field-aligned frequency Geophys GOTO gyrating higher energies increase initial intensity interactions ionisation kappa distribution kinetic energy lines of force Liouville's theorem log E Figure log f loss cone low energies lower-hybrid waves magnetic field strength magnetic mirrors magnetopause magnetosheath magnetosphere Maxwellian measurements mirror motion number density number of particles observed oscillations parallel particle acceleration peak perpendicular phase velocity phase-space density pitch angles planet plasma sheet potential difference potential-difference theory power law protons radiation random range resonance result scattering seen solar flares solar wind space charge spacecraft spectrogram speed tail lobes V₁ velocity distribution velocity space velocity-space density volume wavepackets