Abstract
Waves at the electron plasma frequency are found throughout the
heliosphere. They provide indicators of unstable electron distributions,
are routinely used to estimate the local electron number density, and
can lead to radio wave emission at the plasma frequency and its
harmonics. Although they have been studied extensively in various solar
and heliospheric plasma regions, there is a lack of statistical studies
of plasma frequency waves in Earth’s magnetotail. Here, the occurrence
and properties of plasma frequency waves, namely Langmuir and upper
hybrid waves, are investigated in Earth’s magnetotail using the four
Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft. In Earth’s magnetotail plasma
frequency waves are observed about
$1$~\% of the time. About
$80$~\% of the waves are identified as
Langmuir waves, while about $20$~\%
are identified as upper hybrid waves. The waves are primarily found in
the plasma sheet boundary layer. By comparing with the local electron
distributions it is shown that the Langmuir waves are generated by the
bump-on-tail instability, while upper hybrid waves are typically
associated with broad electron beams or loss-cone-like distributions.
The majority of the waves are found in close proximity to ion outflow
regions associated with magnetic reconnection in the magnetotail. The
waves are likely generated by plasma sheet electrons escaping along
newly reconnected magnetic field lines or electron beams propagating
toward the distant magnetotail.