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Electric Field And Plasma Density Measurements In The Auroral Electrojet, R. Pfaff, M. C. Kelley, Bela G. Fejer, E. Kudeki, C. W. Carlson, A. Pedersen, B. Hausler

Bela G. Fejer

Intense electrostatic waves in the auroral E region have been detected simultaneously on two payloads launched in a mother-daughter configuration from Kiruna, Sweden. The data sets comprise electric field and density measurements from the ambient (dc) conditions to fluctuations as high as 50 kHz. The dc electric field measured by both payloads was 54 mV/m northwest, which corresponded to an electron drift velocity of 1080 m/s. This electric field drove two-stream waves perpendicular to both B and E observed by both spacecraft throughout an altitude region which agrees quite well with the range predicted by linear two-stream theory. The power …