An Explanation for the Banded Structure of Low-Latitude Whistlers Observed on the Ground

Abstract

Employing a wave-slab interaction model, full-wave calculations are carried out to explain the banded structure in low-latitude whistlers observed at Nainital ground station. The results show that the specular reflection of the whistler waves from a field-aligned slab of enhanced ionization existing in the E-region of the ionosphere, possibly in the form of sporadic-E layers, is the only possible mechanism in which banding in whistler spectrum may be caused.