Magnetic and Electric Field Polarizations of Oblique Magnetospheric Chorus Waves

A theory was developed to explain the properties of the chorus magnetic and electric field components in the case of an arbitrary propagation angle. The new theory shows that a whistler wave has circularly polarized magnetic fields for oblique propagation. This theoretical result is verified by GEOTAIL observations. The wave electric field polarization plane is not orthogonal to the wave vector, and in general is highly elliptically polarized. A special case of the whistler wave called the Gendrin mode is also discussed. This will help to construct a detailed and realistic picture of wave interaction with magnetosphere electrons. It is the purpose of this innovation to study the magnetic and electric polarization properties of chorus at all frequencies, and at all angles of propagation. Even though general expressions for electromagnetic wave polarization in anisotropic plasma are derived in many textbooks, to the knowledge of the innovators, a detailed analysis for oblique whistler wave mode is lacking. Knowledge of the polarization properties is critical for theoretical calculations of resonant wave-particle interactions.