The Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) investigation on the NASA Radiation Belt Storm Probes (now named the Van Allen Probes) mission provides key wave and very low frequency magnetic field measurements to understand radiation belt acceleration, loss, and transport. The key science objectives and the contribution that EMFISIS makes to providing measurements as well as theory and modeling are described. The key components of the instruments suite, both electronics and sensors, including key functional parameters, calibration, and performance, demonstrate that EMFI-SIS provides the needed measurements for the science of the RBSP mission. The EMFISIS operational modes and data products, along with online availability and data tools provide the radiation belt science community with one the most complete sets of data ever collected.
[1] We describe several newly developed methods for propagation analysis of electromagnetic plasma waves. We make use of singular value decomposition (SVD) technique and we determine the wave vector direction, ellipticity and directions of axes of the polarization ellipse, wave refractive index, transfer function of electric antennas, estimators of the planarity of polarization, and electromagnetic planarity. Simulations of Z-mode waves, which simultaneously propagate with different wave vectors, indicate that the SVD methods give reasonable results even if the assumption on the presence of a single plane wave is invalid. Simulations of whistler mode waves show that these methods can be used to recognize cases when the waves simultaneously propagate with wave vectors in two opposite hemispheres. Finally, we show an example of analysis of natural whistler mode and Z-mode emissions measured in the high-altitude auroral region by the MEMO experiment onboard the INTERBALL spacecraft.
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