Soliton model for broadband electrostatic noise

Abstract

Generation of broadband electrostatic noise (BEN) in the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) in terms of electron-acoustic solitons and double layers is proposed. The PSBL is treated as a multi-component magnetized plasma consisting of background electrons, counter-streaming electron beams and ions. The model is based on the multi-fluid equations and the Poisson equation, and uses the Sagdeev pseudo-potential technique. For the plasma parameters at the time of BEN in the PSBL observed by Cluster on 22 September 2004, the model predicts solitons/double layer with electric field ∼ (0.01–30) mV/m. It is proposed that the model can be a good candidate for explaining the generation of BEN in the PSBL.