A team at Nagoya University in Japan has observed energy transfer from resonant electrons to whistler mode waves in space for the first time, confirming the effective wave growth theory. People often think that space is a perfect vacuum, but in fact this is a wrong impression, because the vacuum is filled with charged particles. Charged particles in deep space are so sparse that they rarely collide with each other. The forces associated with electromagnetic fields in space primarily control the motion of charged particles. Charged particles in space do not collide except near interstellar objects such as stars and planets. Around Earth, the interaction of charged particles creates waves, including electromagnetic whistle mode waves, which scatter and accelerate some of the charged particles. Using data collected by the Fast Plasma Investigation-Dual Electron Spectrometers onboard a NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale vehicle, Japanese researchers directly detected the sustained energy transfer from resonant electrons to whistler mode waves. The research report was published in the journal Nature Communications.
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