Revised Single-Spacecraft Method for Determining Wavevector k and Resolving Space-time Ambiguity

Abstract

A practical method is proposed for determining the wave vector of waves from single-spacecraft measurements. This wave vector knowledge can then be used to remove the space-time ambiguity produced by frequency Doppler shift associated with spacecraft motion. The method involves applying the Wiener-Khinchin theorem to cross correlations of the current and magnetic field oscillations and to autocorrelations of the magnetic field oscillations. The method requires that each wave frequency component map to a unique wave vector, a condition presumed true in many spacecraft measurement situations. Examples validating the method are presented.