Theoretical Studies of Low-Frequency Instabilities in the Ionosphere

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The main objective of the proposed work is to develop a quantitative theory of plasma turbulence in the lower ionosphere that will incorporate dynamical and self-organizational features. Different regimes of nonlinear saturation of the instabilities are expected resulting in different quantitative characteristics of the developed turbulence. A new dynamical-statistical approach for description of nonlinear saturation of the instabilities will be applied. Based on a consistent kinetic theory developed earlier, a quantitative theory of electron heating by the low-frequency turbulence in strongly perturbed auroral regions will be developed. Both analytical and numerical methods will be employed in these studies. It is expected that the proposed theory will explain turbulence features observed by radar backscattering and rocket mounted instruments, as well as some features found in recent numerical simulations. Based on theoretical results, suggestions for future experiments will be proposed. The general results of these studies and the unconventional analytical approach to the description of turbulence may be employed in other fields of knowledge.