In the region between L = 2 to 7 at all Magnetic Local Time (MLTs) plasmaspheric hiss was detected 32% of the time. In the limited region of L = 3 to 6 and 15 to 21 MLT (dusk sector), the wave percentage detection was the highest (51%). The latter plasmaspheric hiss is most likely due to energetic~10-100 keV electrons drifting into the dusk plasmaspheric bulge region. On average, plasmaspheric hiss intensities are an order of magnitude larger on the dayside than on the nightside. Plasmaspheric hiss intensities are considerably more intense and coherent during high-solar wind ram pressure intervals. A hypothesis for this is generation of dayside chorus by adiabatic compression of preexisting 10-100 keV outer magnetospheric electrons in minimum B pockets plus chorus propagation into the plasmasphere. In large solar wind pressure events, it is hypothesized that plasmaspheric hiss can also be generated inside the plasmasphere. These new generation mechanism possibilities are in addition to the well-established mechanism of plasmaspheric hiss generation during substorms and storms. Plasmaspheric hiss under ordinary conditions is of low coherency, with small pockets of several cycles of coherent waves. During high-solar wind ram pressure intervals (positive SYM-H intervals), plasmaspheric hiss and large L hiss can have higher intensities and be coherent. Plasmaspheric hiss in these cases is typically found to be propagating obliquely to the ambient magnetic field with θ kB0~3 0°to 40°. Hiss detected at large L has large amplitudes (~0.2 nT) and propagates obliquely to the ambient magnetic field (θ kB0~7 0°) with 2:1 ellipticity ratios. A series of schematics for plasmaspheric hiss generation is presented.

A Polar magnetosonic wave (MSW) study was conducted using 1 year of 1996-1997 data (during solar minimum). Waves at and inside the plasmasphere were detected at all local times with a slight preference for occurrence in the midnight-postmidnight sector. Wave occurrence (and intensities) peaked within~±5°of the magnetic equator, with half maxima at~±10°. However, MSWs were also detected as far from the equator as +20°and 60°MLAT but with lower intensities. An extreme MSW intensity event of amplitude B w =~± 1 nT and E w =~± 25 mV/m was detected. This event occurred near local midnight, at the plasmapause, at the magnetic equator, during an intense substorm event, e.g., a perfect occurrence. These results support the idea of generation by protons injected from the plasma sheet into the midnight sector magnetosphere by substorm electric fields. MSWs were also detected near noon (1259 MLT) during relative geomagnetic quiet (low AE). A possible generation mechanism is a recovering/expanding plasmasphere engulfing preexisting energetic ions, in turn leading to ion instability. The wave magnetic field components are aligned along the ambient magnetic field direction, with the wave electric components orthogonal, indicating linear wave polarization. The MSW amplitudes decreased at locations further from the magnetic equator, while transverse whistler mode wave amplitudes (hiss) increased. We argue that intense MSWs are always present somewhere in the magnetosphere during strong substorm/convection events. We thus suggest that modelers use dynamic particle tracing codes and the maximum (rather than average) wave amplitudes to simulate wave-particle interactions.

A study of dayside ELF/VLF electromagnetic (EM) waves from L* = 2 to 9 and magnetic local time (MLT) from 09 to 15 was conducted using plasma wave data from the Polar spacecraft. EM waves were detected from L* = 4 to 9 from 09 to 12 MLT with a decrease in the afternoon sector (12 to 15 MLT). Some of the chorus was clearly related to generation by substorm injected ∼5 to 100 keV electrons drifting from the midnight sector to the local noon sector. However, dayside chorus also showed two solar wind ram pressure dependences: increased (above average) pressures and unusually low pressures. Possible chorus generation mechanisms are discussed. Chorus detected by Polar away from the magnetic equator generation region (∼25° to 55° magnetic latitude) was substantially different than chorus detected in previous studies within the ∼0° to 10° generation region. (1) Two separate bands of chorus were often detected simultaneously: a higher‐frequency downgoing (toward the Earth) band of waves and a lower‐frequency upcoming band. (2) The downgoing waves are ∼2 orders of magnitude more intense (∼10−2 nT2) than simultaneously detected lower‐frequency upcoming waves (∼10−4 nT2). (3) Chorus, when viewed as a Fourier spectrum, appears as a band of semicoherent hiss. (4) A scenario and schematic is presented to explain these observations: chorus is presumed to be generated at the equator at large L*, propagate downward toward Earth and inward across L* shells, and then refract back up to the spacecraft location. (5) The waves detected at Polar latitudes did not possess the temporal structure or the coherency of the ∼10 to 100 ms duration equatorial chorus subelements, although full single cycles with right‐hand, circularly polarized structures were identified. This quasi‐coherent EM turbulence may be formed by wave dispersive effects. The longer the wave path length, the greater is the reduction in coherency. (6) This feature of chorus has significant consequences for off‐equatorial wave‐particle interactions. For example, the microburst mechanism of Lakhina et al. (2010) that can account for rapid pitch angle diffusion of ∼5 to 100 keV electrons in the chorus generation region will not work for off‐equatorial scattering of relativistic electrons because of the lack of chorus coherence there. (7) Some comments about semicoherent chorus (hiss) in the outer magnetosphere are made as challenges to theorists in the field.

Three lower-band (f < 0.5 fce) chorus riser elements detected in the dayside generation region were studied in detail using the Van Allen Probe data. Two subelements/wave packets within each riser were examined for their wave "frequency" constancy within seven consecutive wave cycles. The seven wave cycles contained the maximum amplitudes of the subelements/packets. Maximum variance B1 zero crossings were used for the identification of wave cycle start and stop times. It is found that the frequency is constant to within~3% (one standard deviation), with no evidence of upward frequency sweeping over the seven cycles. Continuous wavelet power spectra for the duration of the seven cycles confirm this conclusion. The implication is that a chorus riser element is composed of coherent approximately "monochromatic" steps instead of a gradual sweep in frequency over the whole element. There was no upward frequency stepping where the wave amplitude was the largest, contrary to the sideband theory prediction. It is shown that a chorus riser involves instability of cyclotron resonant energetic electrons from~6 to~40 keV at L = 5.8, that is, essentially the whole substorm electron energy spectrum. The above findings may have important consequences for possible wave generation mechanisms. Some new ideas for mechanisms are suggested in conclusion.