The French-Soviet ‘ARAKS’ experiment

In 1975, a rocket borne electron gun experiment will be achieved in Kerguelen Islands (South Indian Ocean), as a result of a cooperation between Soviet and French scientists. The gun will inject into the magnetosphere large currents (0.5 and 1 A) of high energy electrons (15 and 27 keV) with different initial pitch angles ( 0°, 70, 140°). A nose cone will be ejected at great distance ( 10 km) in front of the rocket, equipped mainly with radio wave receivers, both electric and magnetic, in the frequency range from 0 to 5 MHz, in order to study the wave particle interactions which will be induced by the beam. Optical and radioelectric observations will be performed in the conjugate area, in the district of Arkhangelsk (U.S.S.R.). During one of the two flights (launched in the magnetic meridian) attention will be focused on the wave particle interactions which are expected to be stronger when the beam is injected along the magnetic field line. The second flight, which will be launched towards the east, is attempted to study the azimuthal drift of the injected electrons and to derive some conclusions concerning the DC electric field, integrated over the line of force which joins the two conjugate points (L = 3.7). During both flights the energy and pitch angle distribution of atmospherically backscattered electrons will be studied.We describe the experiment and give the results of some preliminary computations which have been made by the different experimenters in order to predict the amplitude of the expected phenomena. A discussion is made of the respective ability for electron beam injection and cold plasma injection to artificially induce strong particle precipitation.On leave from Groupe de Recherches Ionosphériques, CNET, 92131 Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.