Structure of the Electric Field of a High-Power HF Radio Wave in the Outer Earth's Ionosphere
The electric field of a high-power HF radio wave radiated by the SURA facility was measured using onboard instruments of the French microsatellite DEMETER at altitudes of 670 km. The data analysis shows that the high-power radio wave passes to the outer ionosphere under conditions where the difference between the cutoff frequency and pump-wave frequency does not exceed 0.5–0.7 MHz in the unperturbed ionosphere. Energy and spatial characteristics of the high-power radio wave transmitted through the ionosphere are determined. A possible mechanism explaining such a penetration to the supercritical plasma is discussed.