A parametric study for the generation of ion Bernstein modes from a discrete spectrum to a continuous one in the inner magnetosphere. I. Linear theory.

Ion Bernstein modes, also known as magnetosonic waves in the magnetospheric community, are considered to play an important role in radiation belt electron acceleration. The detailed properties of perpendicular magnetosonic waves excited in the inner magnetosphere by a tenuous proton ring distribution are investigated in a two series paper with a combination of the linear theory and onedimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Here, in this paper, we study the properties of the excited magnetosonic waves under different plasma conditions with the linear theory. When the proton to electron mass ratio or the ratio of the light speed to the Alfven speed is small, the excited magnetosonic waves are prone to having a discrete spectrum with only several wave modes. With the increase of the proton to electron mass ratio or the ratio of the light speed to the Alfven speed, the lower hybrid frequency also increases, which leads to the increase of both the number and frequency of the excited wave modes. Meanwhile, the growth rate of these wave modes also increases. When the proton to electron mass ratio or the ratio of the light speed to the Alfven speed is sufficiently large, the spectrum of the excited magnetic waves becomes continuous due to the overlapping of the adjacent wave modes. The increase of the density of the protons with the ring distribution can also result in the increase of the growth rate, which may also change the discrete spectrum of the excited waves to a continuous one, while the increase of the ring velocity of the tenuous proton ring distribution leads to a broader spectrum, but with a smaller growth rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]