Non-monochromatic whistler waves detected by Kaguya on the dayside surface of the moon

作者：Nakagawa Tomoko^*; Takahashi Futoshi; Tsunakawa Hideo; Shibuya Hidetoshi; Shimizu Hisayoshi; Matsushima Masaki

来源：EARTH PLANETS AND SPACE, 2011, 63(1): 37-46.

DOI：10.5047/eps.2010.01.005

• Moon
• whistler wave
• solar wind
• reflected protons
• Kaguya

Non-monochromatic fluctuations of the magnetic field over the frequency range of 0.03-10 Hz were detected by Kaguya at an altitude of 100 km above the lunar surface. The fluctuations were almost always observed on the solar side of the moon, irrespective of the local lunar crustal field. They were also detected just nightside of the terminator (SZA < 123 degrees), but were absent around the center of the wake. The level of the fluctuation enhanced over the wide range from 0.03 to 10 Hz, with no clear peak frequency. The fluctuations had the compressional component, and the polarization was not clear. The fluctuations were supposed to be whistler waves generated by the protons reflected by the lunar surface. The reflected protons are scattered in various directions, resulting a wide range of distribution of the velocity component parallel to the magnetic field. It may account for the wide range of frequency as observed, through cyclotron resonance of the wave with the reflected ions, in which the resonant frequency depends on the velocity component parallel to the magnetic field. However, there is also the possibility that the waves were generated by some nonresonant process.

• 出版日期2011