Electromagnetic radiation by parametric decay of upper hybrid waves in ionospheric modification experiments

A nonlinear dispersion relation for the parametric decay of an electrostatic upper hybrid wave into an ordinary mode electromagnetic wave, propagating parallel to the ambient magnetic field, and an electrostatic low frequency wave, being either a lower hybrid wave or a high harmonic ion Bernstein wave, is derived. The coherent and resonant wave interaction is considered to take place in a weakly magnetized and collisionless Vlasov plasma. The instability growth rate is computed for parameter values typical of ionospheric modification experiments, in which a powerful high frequency electromagnetic pump wave is injected into the ionospheric F-region from ground-based transmitters. The electromagnetic radiation which is excited by the decaying upper hybrid wave is found to be consistent with the prominent and commonly observed downshifted maximum (DM) emission in the spectrum of stimulated electromagnetic emission.