Dissipation of ionospheric irregularities by wave-particle and collisional interactions

The nonlinear dissipation of plasma irregularities aligned parallel to an ambient magnetic field is studied numerically using a model which employs both wave-particle and collisional diffusion. A wave-particle diffusion coefficient derived from a local theory of the universal drift instability is used. This coefficient is effective in regions of nonzero plasma gradients and produces triangular-shaped irregularities with spectra which vary as f-4, where f is the spatial frequency. Collisional diffusion acts rapidly on the vertices of the irregularities to reduce their amplitude. The simultanteous action of the two dissipative processes is more efficient than collisions acting alone. In this model, wave-particle diffusion mimics the forward cascade process of wave-wave coupling