Incoherent Scattering of Twisted Radar Beams from the Ionosphere

In the search for natural orbital angular momentum (OAM) effects, some of the first incoherent scatter experiments with twisted radar beams during aurora were conducted at Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR), Alaska, USA, in October 2012. Experimental data of scatter from beam configurations with opposite twists were investigated. By the use of hypothesis tests in combination with Monte Carlo simulations together with traditional estimations of the mean and confidence interval, asymmetries between scatter of radar beams with opposite twists were identified for an integration time of at least 30 minutes. Asymmetries were detected in the internal radar noise too, but not necessarily with the same signs as for the asymmetries from the ionospheric signals. The asymmetries identified could be due to amplified noise for signals coming from intense aurora or perhaps the rectangular-shaped antenna array used at PFISR. These two possible causes need to be ruled out before suggesting that the asymmetries identified are an outcome of OAM effects present in the ionosphere