Latitudinal structure of Pc 5 waves in space: Magnetic and electric field observations

The occurrence frequency and spatial structure of Pc 5 magnetic pulsations in the dawnside of the plasma trough have been studied using data from the Ogo 5 satellite. The wave magnetic fields were obtained from the University of California, Los Angeles, flux-gate magnetometer measurements, and one component of the wave electric field was inferred from oscillations of the ion flux measured by the Lockheed light ion mass spectrometer. During portions of seven of the 19 passes comprising the survey, Pc 5 oscillations were observed in the ion flux but not in the magnetic field, and in each case the satellite was within 100 of the geomagnetic equator. Above 100 latitude, transverse magnetic and electric oscillations were both observed. The results are consistent with the model of a standing Alfven wave along a resonant field line with the geomagnetic equator as a node of the magnetic perturbation, that is, and odd mode. The wave periods are generally consistent with the fundamental resonant period. In this study, Pc 5 oscillations were identified 3 or 4 times more frequently (per orbit) than in previous spacecraft studies which relied only on magnetic data