Evolution of dayside chorus into nightside plasmaspheric hiss

Plasmaspheric hiss is an incoherent, broadband, whistler-mode emission that is found primarily in the Earth’s dense plasmasphere and is believed to be largely responsible for the formation of the slot region between the inner and outer radiation belts. Beginning with the earliest observations of pla...

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Main Authors: Jacob Bortnik, Lunjin Chen, Xiao-Jia Zhang, Nigel P. Meredith
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2025.1619877/full
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author Jacob Bortnik
Lunjin Chen
Xiao-Jia Zhang
Xiao-Jia Zhang
Nigel P. Meredith
author_facet Jacob Bortnik
Lunjin Chen
Xiao-Jia Zhang
Xiao-Jia Zhang
Nigel P. Meredith
author_sort Jacob Bortnik
collection DOAJ
description Plasmaspheric hiss is an incoherent, broadband, whistler-mode emission that is found primarily in the Earth’s dense plasmasphere and is believed to be largely responsible for the formation of the slot region between the inner and outer radiation belts. Beginning with the earliest observations of plasmaspheric hiss in the 1970s, it was noticed that duskside hiss emissions tended to disappear during the main phase of geomagnetic storms, and reappear again during the recovery phase. Here, we perform extensive ray tracing in a realistic, three-dimensional cold plasma density model that evolves during the course of a storm. On the basis of these simulations, we show that the formation of a broad, dayside plasmaspheric plume during the main phase of the storm prevents access of dayside chorus rays to the plasmaspheric dusk-midnight region, which explains the observed disappearance of plasmaspheric hiss waves in this region. In the recovery phase of the storm, however, the narrow, rotated plume and eroded plasmasphere create the ideal conditions for dayside chorus rays to propagate into the plasmasphere, attain a large azimuthal propagation component, and ‘hop’ over the narrow plume, thus enabling them to access the dusk-midnight region and explaining the observed reappearance of duskside hiss waves in the storm recovery phase.
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spelling doaj-art-1c5bc9a487944146992bfd3ebd0eda722025-08-25T04:10:28ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences2296-987X2025-08-011210.3389/fspas.2025.16198771619877Evolution of dayside chorus into nightside plasmaspheric hissJacob Bortnik0Lunjin Chen1Xiao-Jia Zhang2Xiao-Jia Zhang3Nigel P. Meredith4Department of Atmospheric and Oceanics Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesDepartment of Physics, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United StatesDepartment of Physics, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United StatesDepartment of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesBritish Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, United KingdomPlasmaspheric hiss is an incoherent, broadband, whistler-mode emission that is found primarily in the Earth’s dense plasmasphere and is believed to be largely responsible for the formation of the slot region between the inner and outer radiation belts. Beginning with the earliest observations of plasmaspheric hiss in the 1970s, it was noticed that duskside hiss emissions tended to disappear during the main phase of geomagnetic storms, and reappear again during the recovery phase. Here, we perform extensive ray tracing in a realistic, three-dimensional cold plasma density model that evolves during the course of a storm. On the basis of these simulations, we show that the formation of a broad, dayside plasmaspheric plume during the main phase of the storm prevents access of dayside chorus rays to the plasmaspheric dusk-midnight region, which explains the observed disappearance of plasmaspheric hiss waves in this region. In the recovery phase of the storm, however, the narrow, rotated plume and eroded plasmasphere create the ideal conditions for dayside chorus rays to propagate into the plasmasphere, attain a large azimuthal propagation component, and ‘hop’ over the narrow plume, thus enabling them to access the dusk-midnight region and explaining the observed reappearance of duskside hiss waves in the storm recovery phase.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2025.1619877/fullplasmaspheric hisschorusplumeray tracingmagnetosphere
spellingShingle Jacob Bortnik
Lunjin Chen
Xiao-Jia Zhang
Xiao-Jia Zhang
Nigel P. Meredith
Evolution of dayside chorus into nightside plasmaspheric hiss
Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
plasmaspheric hiss
chorus
plume
ray tracing
magnetosphere
title Evolution of dayside chorus into nightside plasmaspheric hiss
title_full Evolution of dayside chorus into nightside plasmaspheric hiss
title_fullStr Evolution of dayside chorus into nightside plasmaspheric hiss
title_full_unstemmed Evolution of dayside chorus into nightside plasmaspheric hiss
title_short Evolution of dayside chorus into nightside plasmaspheric hiss
title_sort evolution of dayside chorus into nightside plasmaspheric hiss
topic plasmaspheric hiss
chorus
plume
ray tracing
magnetosphere
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2025.1619877/full
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