Unprecedentedly strong and narrow electromagnetic emissions stimulated by high-frequency radio waves in the ionosphere

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Feb 13;102(6):065003. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.065003. Epub 2009 Feb 12.

Abstract

Experimental results of secondary electromagnetic radiation, stimulated by high-frequency radio waves irradiating the ionosphere, are reported. We have observed emission peaks, shifted in frequency up to a few tens of Hertz from radio waves transmitted at several megahertz. These emission peaks are by far the strongest spectral features of secondary radiation that have been reported. The emissions are attributed to stimulated Brillouin scattering, long predicted but hitherto never unambiguously identified in high-frequency ionospheric interaction experiments. The experiments were performed at the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), Alaska, USA.