An unambiguous determination of the propagation of a compressional Pc 5 wave

A compressional Pc5 event observed by the ISEE-1 magnetometer and Medium Energetic Particle Experiment instrument on August 21 and 22, 1978, is examined. The propagation properties of the compressional waves were determined using a technique which utilizes the finite Larmor radius effects in the signature of the multichannel energetic ion detector. It is shown that this technique determines unambiguously the propagation characteristics of the wave in both the azimuthal and the radial directions in the plane perpendicular to the background magnetic field; the results remained valid even though heavy energetic ions with Larmor radii larger than proton Larmor radii were present in the plasma.