First evidence of patchy flickering aurora modulated by multi-ion electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves, one of the possible origins of flickering aurora, have been thought to modulate the electron flux at a few thousand kilometers. In fact, flickering aurora with a frequency range of 3-15Hz has often been identified by ground-based optical observations and has been interpreted to be caused by O+-band EMIC waves. However, extant research to date has not identified possible signatures of H+-band EMIC waves due to technical limitations of ground-based high-speed imagers. The present study shows the first evidence that patchy flickering aurora could be modulated by H+-band EMIC waves, based on the data obtained from imaging observations at 160 frames per second. The sporadic appearance of the flickering aurora in the frequency range of 50-80Hz coexisted with typical flickering auroras of approximately 10Hz. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that flickering auroras are generated by multi-ion EMIC waves.