Dissipative instability of charged aerosol flows in the mesosphere

We consider the possible mechanism of generation of charged-particle density irregularities and electric field in the middle atmosphere based on the development of the dissipative instability of a flow of large charged aerosols. A dispersion equation describing the properties of the spectral component of a quasi-static electric field with allowance for the aerosol charging inertia is obtained. This equation is used to study characteristics of the instability threshold. It is shown that the charging inertia and the presence of photoelectrons lead to an increase and a decrease in the threshold plasma frequency of the aerosols, respectively. It is found that there exist optimal combinations of such parameters as the radius of spherical aerosols and the mass of heavy ion clusters for which the instability threshold is minimum. It is also shown that the instability threshold is lower for the particles stretched along the motion direction. Quantitative estimates are given for medium parameters necessary for the excitation of instability in the region of existence of polar mesospheric summer echo as well as for spatial scales of unstable perturbations. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 49, No. 11, pp. 942–957, November 2006.