Ra. Mathie et al., Pc5 ULF pulsations associated with waveguide modes observed with the IMAGEmagnetometer array, J GEO R-S P, 104(A4), 1999, pp. 7025-7036
Several recent publications have reported high-latitude radar observations
of field line resonances (FLRs) displaying discrete and very stable frequen
cies in the Pc5 range. It is believed that these quantized frequency FLRs m
ay be associated with cavity/waveguide harmonics of the outer magnetosphere
but the prevalence and reported stability of the frequencies remains contr
oversial. We examine the statistics of 137 Pc5 pulsation events identified
from 3 months magnetometer data from the International Monitor for Auroral
Geomagnetic Effects (IMAGE) and show that these discrete frequencies are al
so prominent in ground-based data but find no evidence to support their rep
orted day-to-day stability. However, our observations are consistent with F
LRs in the outer magnetosphere being driven by waveguide mode harmonics. Fu
rther, we examine amplitude, phase, polarization, and azimuthal wave number
characteristics and show that these FLRs have features which are strongly
local time dependent. Our analysis indicates that the local time dependence
of the waveguide modes' magnetopause boundary condition may be critical in
determining where Pc5 pulsation resonances can develop.