ELECTRON-CYCLOTRON MASER EMISSION - RELATIVE GROWTH AND DAMPING RATES FOR DIFFERENT MODES AND HARMONICS

The temporal growth rate and the number of e-folding growths are calculated and compared for the following wave modes due to a loss-cone-driven cyclotron maser: fundamental x, o, and z modes and second harmonic x and o modes. The effect of cyclotron damping by thermal electrons on the growth is discussed. Numerical calculations show that the effect is important only when the ratio of the mean energies of the thermal and maser emitting electrons exceeds 0. 1-0. 2. An analytic expression for the damping rate is derived and is used to show that some earlier treatments of cyclotron damping greatly overestimate the effect for loss-cone-driven maser emission.