Preferential amplification of rising versus falling frequency whistler mode signals

Abstract

Analysis of ground-based ELF/VLF observations of injected whistler mode waves from the 1986 Siple Station experiment demonstrates the preferential magnetospheric amplification of rising over descending frequency-time ramps. From examining conjugate region receptions of 1 kHz/s frequency-time ramps, we find that rising ramps generate an average total power 1.9 times higher than that of falling frequency ramps when both are observed during a transmission. And in 17% of receptions, only rising ramps are observed above the noise floor. Furthermore, the amplification ratio inversely correlates with the noise and total signal power. Using a narrowband Vlasov-Maxwell numerical simulation, we explore the preferential amplification due to differences in linear growth rate as a function of frequency, relative to the frequency which maximizes the linear growth rate for a given anisotropy, and in nonlinear phase trapping. These results contribute to the understanding of magnetospheric wave amplification and the preference for structured rising elements in chorus.