ELF/VLF Wave Radiation Produced by an Equatorial Ionospheric Heater

Intense HF radiation from a ground-based facility heats the D-region of the ionosphere. The heating modifies the electron energy distribution function, which is found by solving the kinetic equation at each spatial location. The solution selfconsistently takes into account attenuation of HF radiation due to modified HF conductivity. A modulation HF radiation at ELF/VLF frequencies creates corresponding modulation of DC conductivity tensor and consequently modulation of currents flowing in the ionosphere. These modulated currents radiate ELF/VLF waves. In the previously studied case of high latitude can propagate both into the Earth-ionosphere waveguide and into the upper ionosphere in the form of whistler waves, where it can be detected by a satellite (D. Piddyachiy, U.S. Inan, T. F. Bell, N. G. Lehtinen and M. Parrot, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2008JA013208, in press).