Numerical Simulation of the Time Evolution of Small-Scale Irregularities in the F-Layer Ionospheric Plasma

Dynamics of magnetic field-aligned small-scale irregularities in the electron concentration, existing in the F-layer ionospheric plasma, is investigated with the help of a mathematical model. The plasma is assumed to be a rarefied compound consisting of electrons and positive ions and being in a str...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: O. V. Mingalev, G. I. Mingaleva, M. N. Melnik, V. S. Mingalev
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2011-01-01
Series:International Journal of Geophysics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/353640
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Summary:Dynamics of magnetic field-aligned small-scale irregularities in the electron concentration, existing in the F-layer ionospheric plasma, is investigated with the help of a mathematical model. The plasma is assumed to be a rarefied compound consisting of electrons and positive ions and being in a strong, external magnetic field. In the applied model, kinetic processes in the plasma are simulated by using the Vlasov-Poisson system of equations. The system of equations is numerically solved applying a macroparticle method. The time evolution of a plasma irregularity, having initial cross-section dimension commensurable with a Debye length, is simulated during the period sufficient for the irregularity to decay completely. The results of simulation indicate that the small-scale irregularity, created initially in the F-region ionosphere, decays accomplishing periodic damped vibrations, with the process being collisionless.
ISSN:1687-885X
1687-8868