Review of Kilometric Continuum 

K. Hashimoto, J.L. Green, R.R. Anderson, and H. Matsumoto 


Kilometric continuum radiation is a non-thermal magnetospheric radio emission.
It is one of the fundamental electromagnetic emissions in all planetary
magnetospheres [cf. the review by Kaiser, 27]. We review its observational
properties in view of their agreement with theoretical models. Although this
emission has been observed and studied for more than 35 years, there are still
several unverified theories on how this emission is generated. It is by now
quite certain that it is emitted from the plasmasphere, in particular from the
plasmapause and from density notches and cavity gradients. Mode conversion at
density gradients plays an important role. Observations show that the radiation
consists of a magnetospherically trapped and an escaping component. It exhibits
a narrow-band fine structure that is barely understood, but beaming models can
be safely excluded based on the observations of the frequency-time structure of
the radiation. We investigate its relation to geomagnetic activity and solar
activity.

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Lect. Notes Phys., 687, 37-54, 2006