Radiation of superluminal irregularities artificially created in the lower ionosphere

We present the results of numerical simulation and physical experiments to verify the possibility of generating a virtual superluminal VLF source by HF ionospheric heating with a scanning beam. The detection of VLF emission was carried out for the source created in two ways:

Sounding of an artificially perturbed ionosphere by means of an ionosonde/position finder with chirp modulation of the signal

We describe the operation of an ionosonde/position finder with chirp modulation of the signal. The first results of measuring the characteristics of short-wave radio signals scattered by artificial small-scale inhomogeneities, which were obtained by means of an ionosonde/position finder on the IZMIRAN—“SURA”—Rostov-on-Don path are presented. It was found that under certain ionospheric conditions, the angular and frequency selection of the scattered signals take place, in which case the signals are observed simultaneously in several frequency intervals (mainly, in three, namely, 6–9.5 MHz, 10–12 MHz, and 15–18 MHz) with different angles of incidence of radio waves in the vertical plane. In this case, the incidence angles were 20◦–35◦, 18◦–32◦, and 10◦–20◦ from the horizon for the first, second, and third frequency interval, respectively. Ionograms of oblique sounding were modeled allowing for the scattering of radio waves by artificial small-scale inhomogeneities. It is shown that at frequencies from 10 to 12 MHz, aspect conditions are fulfilled for the signals ducting along the high-angle beam (Pedersen mode). At frequencies 15–18 MHz (higher than the maximum observable frequency of the forward signal on the path IZMIRAN—Rostov-on-Don), aspect scattering conditions are fulfilled for the signals incident on a scattering area in the ascending part of the trajectory. At low frequencies 6–9.5 MHz (below the maximum observed frequency of the forward signal on the IZMIRAN—Rostov-on-Don path), the observable additional signals are caused by the scattering of radio waves by artificial inhomogeneities with subsequent relfection of the scattered signal from the Earth on the “SURA”—Rostov-on-Don path. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 267–278, April 2009.     

Modelling of HF wave propagation in the vicinity of quasicritical rays in the disturbed ionosphere

The results of experimental studies of the fine structure of a signal in the vicinity of the maximum observed frequency (MOF) on the Khabarovsk—Nizhny Novgorod path of oblique chirp sounding (OCS) are presented. Additional tracks were observed in the region between the high-angle and low-angle rays during magneto-ionospheric disturbances. Under strong disturbances the ionograms were of a spreading type in the vicinity of the MOF. The observed effect was modelled in the presence of travelling ionospheric disturbances (TID) with different parameters. It is shown that the stratification of the high-angle ray into several additional tracks is a maximum for TID with vertical scales $\ell _z \sim {\text{ 20 - 40}}$ km whose wave fronts make angles about 0–10° with the horizontal line. The possibilities of using the Pedersen mode as a probing wave for diagnostics of the fine structure of the ionosphere in the vicinity of the F-layer maximum are discussed.     

Modelling of HF wave propagation in the vicinity of quasicritical rays in the disturbed ionosphere

The results of experimental studies of the fine structure of a signal in the vicinity of the maximum observed frequency (MOF) on the Khabarovsk—Nizhny Novgorod path of oblique chirp sounding (OCS) are presented. Additional tracks were observed in the region between the high-angle and low-angle rays during magneto-ionospheric disturbances. Under strong disturbances the ionograms were of a spreading type in the vicinity of the MOF. The observed effect was modelled in the presence of travelling ionospheric disturbances (TID) with different parameters. It is shown that the stratification of the high-angle ray into several additional tracks is a maximum for TID with vertical scales km whose wave fronts make angles about 0–10° with the horizontal line. The possibilities of using the Pedersen mode as a probing wave for diagnostics of the fine structure of the ionosphere in the vicinity of the F-layer maximum are discussed. Radiophysical Research Institute, Nizhny Novgorod; State Technical University of Ioshkar-Ola, Mari Republic; Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere, and Radio Wave Propagation, Russian Academy of Sciences, Troitsk, Moscow region, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 3–12, January, 1998.     

Study of the algorithm for time-frequency analysis of the measurement series of night mesospheric ozone emission spectra at millimeter waves

An algorithm for time–frequency analysis of irregular time data series is developed and tested to study variations of night mesospheric ozone radiation, observed at millimeter waves from the Earth’s surface. Some results of numerical and field experiments are presented.     

Acoustic impedance of an artificially lengthened and constricted vocal tract

Voice training techniques often make use of exercises involving partial occlusion of the vocal tract, typically at the anterior part of the oral cavity or at the lips. In this study two techniques are investigated: a bilabial fricative and a small diameter hard-walled tube placed between the lips. Because the input acoustic impedance of the vocal tract is known to affect both the shaping of the glottal flow pulse and the vibrational pattern of the vocal folds, a study of the input impedance is an essential step in understanding the benefits of these two techniques. The input acoustic impedance of the vocal tract was investigated theoretically for cases of a vowel, bilabial occlusion (fully closed lips), a bilabial fricative, and artificially lengthening the tract with small diameter tubes. The results indicate that the tubes increase the input impedance in the range of the fundamental frequency of phonation by lowering the first formant frequency to nearly that of the bilabial occlusion (the lower bound on the first formant) while still allowing a continuous airflow. The bilabial fricative also has the effect of lowering the first formant frequency and increasing the low-frequency impedance, but not as effectively as the extension tubes.