Numerical and experimental simulation of cyclotron instabilities relevant to the magnetosphere

Experiments have been conducted to replicate major aspects of the electrodynamics of the polar magnetosphere. These experiments have been used to validate numerical simulations of plasma mediated cyclotron instabilities. The experiments and simulations have been found to be in good agreement, showing radiation efficiencies of ~ few % of electron kinetic energy, with wave emission preferentially into the X mode at the cyclotron frequency. These results support the proposal that the primary driver of radio wave emission in the auroral zone of the Earth’s magnetosphere is the kinetic energy associated with horseshoe, or half shell, electron distributions in the descending auroral electron flux.