The Generation of 150 km Echoes Through Nonlinear Wave Mode Coupling.

A fundamental problem in plasma turbulence is understanding how energy cascades across multiple scales. In this paper, a new weak turbulence theory is developed to explain how energy can be transferred from Langmuir and Upper‐Hybrid waves to ion‐acoustic waves. A kinetic approach is used where the Boltzmann equation is Fourier‐Laplace transformed, and the nonlinear term is retained. A unique feature of this approach is the ability to calculate power spectra at low frequencies, for any wavelength or magnetic aspect angle. The results of this theory explain how the predominant type of 150‐km radar echoes are generated in the ionosphere. First, peaks in the suprathermal electron velocity distribution drive a bump‐on‐tail like instability that excites the Upper‐Hybrid mode. This excited wave then couples nonlinearly to the ion‐acoustic mode, generating the ∼10 dB enhancement observed by radars. This theory also explains why higher frequency radars like ALTAIR do not observe these echoes. Plain Language Summary: The onset and evolution of turbulent flows is one of the most important outstanding questions in classical physics. When a fluid, gas, or plasma goes turbulent the flow can no longer be described with simple parameters such as speed and temperature. The fundamental problem is that these types of parameters describe the whole system, but during turbulence the flow is irregular and involves both microscopic and macroscopic motions. The research presented here shows how a macroscopic instability can drive microscopic changes at vastly different length and time scales. The approach taken falls into the category of weak‐turbulence theory, which is where the turbulence is not overpowering, and therefore can be described using some of the standard tools from gas dynamics. This new turbulence theory is applied to the problem of 150‐km echoes. These echoes are a plasma instability observed by radars in the lower ionosphere between 130 and 170 km in altitude. The mechanism of the plasma instability driving 150‐km radar echoes has previously been worked out, but the weak‐turbulence theory developed here is needed to fully explain the observations. The results provide an unprecedented description of plasma turbulence across multiple time and length scales. Key Points: A kinetic theory is developed to explain how Langmuir and Upper‐Hybrid waves couple nonlinearly to ion‐acoustic wavesNonlinear mode coupling solves the problem of how 150‐km radar echoes are generated in the lower ionosphereMode coupling explains why only lower frequency (30–50 MHz) radars observe the enhanced ion‐acoustic waves in 150‐km echoes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]