Abstract
Ground-based and satellite measurements, as well as numerical modeling of the spatial structure of the equatorial ionospheric bubbles are carried out quite intensively. These data show that the longitudinal and altitudinal gradients of the logarithm of the electron concentration at the vertical boundaries of the bubbles can reach values of 0.001 1/m and 0.0001 1/m, respectively. With such gradients of electron concentration, the development of a gradient-drift instability (GDI) is possible. This instability can generate ionospheric plasma irregularities with space-time scales characteristic of equatorial F-scattering. This article presents the results of calculating the growth rates of the GDI at the boundaries of ionospheric bubbles. The space-time structure of equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) is obtained by numerical simulation. This simulation is based on a two-dimensional numerical model of the Rayleigh–Taylor instability in the Earth’s equatorial ionosphere. This model was constructed under the condition that the Rayleigh-Taylor and gradient inhomogeneities are strongly elongated along the magnetic field lines. The growth rates of the gradient-drift plasma instability are obtained from the dispersion equation. The results of numerical experiments confirm the possibility of generating the GDI of the ionospheric plasma. This is due to significant longitudinal and altitudinal plasma gradients at the fronts of the developed EPB. In this case, the growth rate of the GDI can reach values of 1/(170 s). The GDI can cause equatorial F-scattering.
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This study was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project 20-01-00361.
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Kashchenko, N.M., Ishanov, S.A. & Matsievsky, S.V. Numerical Study of the Gradient-Drift Instability’s Growth Rate at the Fronts of Equatorial Plasma Bubbles. Math Models Comput Simul 13, 623–630 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2070048221040141
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S2070048221040141