Beat excitation of whistler mode sidebands using the Siple VLF transmitter

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Abstract
The process of whistler mode sideband generation in the magnetosphere was studied by transmitting two monochromatic signals closely spaced in frequency (Δf = 5–45 Hz) from the experimental VLF transmitter at Siple Station, Antarctica. The signals were observed following ducted magnetospheric propagation to the conjugate station at Roberval, Quebec. Sidebands up to seventh order were generated extending to ±100 Hz with respect to the average frequency of the carriers. New frequencies were observed both under conditions of little or no growth of the input signals and when one of the input signals did grow significantly. At times the sideband amplitudes exceeded the intensity of either input signal. A small signal mechanism is proposed in which emissions are triggered by each beat between the input waves but are then suppressed by the following beat. The energy from the phase bunched particles is believed to feed preferentially into the sidebands rather than causing growth of the input waves themselves. In this model, phase trapping of resonant electrons by the wave is not required. The observed process of sideband generation provides a mechanism to break down the coherence of relatively narrowband waves in the magnetosphere and may thus account for existing evidence of the transformation of relatively coherent wave packets into broader more variable bands of noiselike signals.