Dusty Space Plasma Diagnosis Using the Behavior of Polar Mesospheric Summer Echoes During Electron Precipitation Events

Abstract

The behavior of polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSEs) during an electron precipitation event is investigated by including dusty plasma effects for the first time. The observational data recorded with the very high frequency (224 MHz) and ultrahigh frequency (930 MHz) radars at the European Incoherent SCATter Scientific Association on 10 and 11 July 2012 are presented. The observed radar echoes show that the PMSEs are both correlated and anticorrelated with the increased electron density associated with electron precipitation events on the two consecutive days. The experimental observations are compared with numerical simulations of the temporal evolution of PMSE with different background dusty plasma parameters during the electron precipitation event. Specifically, the effect of dust radius, dust density, recombination/photoionization rates, photo‐detachment current, and electron density enhancement ratio on the behavior of a PMSE layer and the associated dust charging process in the course of electron precipitation events is studied. It is observed that the ratio of electron density fluctuation amplitude δne to the plasma density (ne) plays a critical role in the appearance/disappearance of the layer. The simulation results revealed that the existence of PMSE is mainly determined by dust radius and dust density. The dusty plasma parameters associated with each event are estimated. The condensation nuclei of the ice particles such as proton hydrate clusters (H+(H2O)n) or meteoric smoke particles can be determined by employing the microphysical models along with the dusty plasma simulations. This can resolve any discrepancy in the description of the observed phenomena.

Neutral Air Turbulence in the Mesosphere and Associated Polar Mesospheric Summer Echoes (PMSEs)

“…Very recent work by Mahmoudian et al. (2018) is dedicated to the time evolution of PMSE during enhanced electron density in the mesosphere produced by electron precipitation events. This work demonstrated that the ratio of electron density fluctuation amplitude ( δn e ) to the plasma density ( n e ) plays a critical role in the appearance/disappearance of the layer.…”

“…More simulation work has been done to investigate the temporal evolution of electron irregularities in response to radio wave heating (Chen & Scales, 2005;Mahmoudian et al, 2011;Mahmoudian, Mohebalhojeh, Farahani, Scales, & Kosch, 2017;Senior et al, 2014). Very recent work by Mahmoudian et al (2018) is dedicated to the time evolution of PMSE during enhanced electron density in the mesosphere produced by electron precipitation events. This work demonstrated that the ratio of electron density fluctuation amplitude (δn e ) to the plasma density (n e ) plays a critical role in the appearance/disappearance of the layer.…”

Exploring the occurrence rate of PMSE-Es by Digisonde at Tromsø

“…Polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE) are abnormally strong radar echoes from altitudes of 80–90 km during local summer near the mesopause (Ecklund and Balsley, 1981). Since the first observation of PMSE, scientists have carried out comprehensive research and gained many insights and achievements at a variety of frequency bands ranging from MF/HF (Medium Frequency/High Frequency) (Karashtin et al, 1997; Ogawa et al, 2002, 2003, 2011, 2013; Hosokawa et al, 2004, 2005) to VHF and UHF bands (Cho et al, 1992; Li HL et al, 2010; Liu EX et al, 2012; Li and Rapp, 2013; Mann et al, 2016; Mahmoudian et al, 2018; Rauf et al, 2018, 2019; Ge SC et al, 2020, 2021). In recent years, new experiments were carried out based on in‐situ observations, ground‐based observations, numerical simulations, and theoretical considerations, revealing some possible scientific explanations for the generation of PMSE.…”

A New Technique for Investigating Dust Charging in the PMSE Source Region

“…The first modulation of PMSE by high‐power radio waves was examined in 2000 and 2003 (Chilson et al, 2000; Havnes et al, 2003). Subsequently, the computational models were developed to study the associated physics of such experiments and explain the observational data (Chen & Scales, 2005; Mahmoudian et al, 2018; Scales, 2004; Scales & Mahmoudian, 2016). Considering the model prediction of the different behavior of PMSE at the HF band (e.g., 8 MHz) and VHF (e.g., 224 MHz), a simultaneous experiment using the two radars was conducted at EISCAT in 2013 for the first time (Senior et al, 2014).…”