electron cyclotron wave

electron cyclotron wave

[i′lek‚trän ′sī·klə‚trän ‚wāv]

(plasma physics)

A wave in a plasma which propagates parallel to the magnetic field produced by currents outside the plasma at frequencies less than that of the electron cyclotron resonance, and which is circularly polarized, rotating in the same sense as electrons in the plasma; responsible for whistlers. Also known as whistler wave.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.