Beam-plasma discharge in the ionosphere during active experiments

The model of beam-plasma discharge with regards to active experiments with injections of powerful electron beams in the ionosphere was developed. The main features of such interaction are spacecraft charging, the plasma turbulence generation, the increase of the ambient plasma density by ionizing collisions, heating and acceleration of the background electrons. These processes collectively determine the propagation of the injected electron beam into the ambient ionospheric plasma. Two-dimensional electromagnetic particle simulations have been carried out in order to investigate the injection and transport of the dense electron beam from the spacecraft into collisional ionospheric plasma. The propagation of the high-density electron beam, whose density is comparable to or larger the ambient ionospheric plasma density is studied including elastic and inelastic processes. The main characteristics of the beam-ionospheric plasma interaction are determined