Advances in magnetospheric radio wave analysis and tomography

S.A. Cummer, J.L. Green, B.W. Reinisch, S.F. Fung, M.L. Kaiser, J.S. Pickett, 
I. Christopher, R. Mutel, D.A. Gurnett, C.P. Escoubet


Initial theoretical studies of multi-spacecraft radio tomographic imaging of the
magnetosphere have shown the potential scientific value of the technique. We
report a series of multistatic radio propagation experiments with the goal of
testing and verifying the capabilities of radio tomography. These experiments
focused specifically on measuring the plasma-induced rotation of the wave
polarization (Faraday rotation), from which the path integrated product of
magnetospheric electron density and magnetic field can be directly inferred.
These experiments used the Radio Plasma Imager (RPI) on the IMAGE satellite as
the transmitter. The receiving instruments were the WAVES instrument on WIND and
the WBD instrument on CLUSTER. These experiments showed that Faraday rotation
can be measured on relatively long (>10 RE) magnetospheric propagation paths
with existing transmitter and receiver technology. We conclude that radio
tomographic imaging of magnetospheric electron density and magnetic field is a
powerful technique with unique, large-scale measurement capabilities that can
effectively address important questions in magnetospheric physics.

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Advances in Space Research, 32, 3, 329-336, 2003