Computer simulations for direct conversion of the HF electromagnetic wave into the upper hybrid wave in ionospheric heating experiments

Abstract. Excitation of upper hybrid waves associated with the ionospheric heating experiments is assumed to be essential in explaining some of the features of stimulated electromagnetic emissions (SEE). A direct conversion process is proposed as an excitation mechanism of the upper hybrid waves where the energy of an obliquely propagating electromagnetic pump wave is converted into the electrostatic upper hybrid waves due to small-scale density irregularities. We performed electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations to investigate the energy conversion process in the ionospheric heating experiments. We studied dependence of the amplitude of the excited wave on the propagation angle of the pump wave, scale length of the density irregularity, degree of the irregularity, and thermal velocity of the plasma. The maximum amplitude is found to be 37 of the pump amplitude under an optimum condition.

Key words. Ionosphere (ionospheric irregularities; plasma waves and instabilities; wave-particle interactions).