scholarly journals On the heating of the outer radiation belt to produce high fluxes of relativistic electrons: Measured heating rates at geosynchronous orbit for high-speed stream-driven storms

2010 ◽  
Vol 115 (A12) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph E. Borovsky ◽  
Michael H. Denton
2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1335-1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kataoka ◽  
Y. Miyoshi

Abstract. We report average profiles of the solar wind and outer radiation belt during the extreme flux enhancement of relativistic electrons at geosynchronous orbit (GEO). It is found that seven of top ten extreme events at GEO during solar cycle 23 are associated with the magnetosphere inflation during the storm recovery phase as caused by the large-scale solar wind structure of very low dynamic pressure (<1.0 nPa) during rapid speed decrease from very high (>650 km/s) to typical (400–500 km/s) in a few days. For the seven events, the solar wind parameters, geomagnetic activity indices, and relativistic electron flux and geomagnetic field at GEO are superposed at the local noon period of GOES satellites to investigate the physical cause. The average profiles support the "double inflation" mechanism that the rarefaction of the solar wind and subsequent magnetosphere inflation are one of the best conditions to produce the extreme flux enhancement at GEO because of the excellent magnetic confinement of relativistic electrons by reducing the drift loss of trapped electrons at dayside magnetopause.


Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. MacDonald ◽  
Lauren W. Blum ◽  
S. Peter Gary ◽  
Michelle F. Thomsen ◽  
Michael H. Denton

Three superposed epoch analyses of plasma data from geosynchronous orbit are compared to infer relative distributions of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC)- and whistler-mode wave instabilities. Both local-time and storm-time behaviours are studied with respect to dynamics of relativistic electrons. Using LANL-GEO particle data and a quasi-linear approximation for the wave growth allows us to estimate the instability of the two wave modes. This simple technique can allow powerful insights into wave–particle interactions at geosynchronous orbit. Whistler-wave activity peaks on the dayside during the early recovery phase and can continue to be above normal levels for several days. The main phase of all storms exhibits the most EMIC-wave activity, whereas in the recovery phase of the most radiation-belt-effective storms, a significantly suppressed level of EMIC activity is inferred. These key results indicate new dynamics relating to plasma delivery, source and response, but support generally accepted views of whistlers as a source process and EMIC-mode waves as a major loss contributor at geosynchronous orbit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-425
Author(s):  
Christos Katsavrias ◽  
Constantinos Papadimitriou ◽  
Sigiava Aminalragia-Giamini ◽  
Ioannis A. Daglis ◽  
Ingmar Sandberg ◽  
...  

Abstract. The nature of the semi-annual variation in the relativistic electron fluxes in the Earth's outer radiation belt is investigated using Van Allen Probes (MagEIS and REPT) and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Energetic Particle Sensor (GOES/EPS) data during solar cycle 24. We perform wavelet and cross-wavelet analysis in a broad energy and spatial range of electron fluxes and examine their phase relationship with the axial, equinoctial and Russell–McPherron mechanisms. It is found that the semi-annual variation in the relativistic electron fluxes exhibits pronounced power in the 0.3–4.2 MeV energy range at L shells higher than 3.5, and, moreover, it exhibits an in-phase relationship with the Russell–McPherron effect, indicating the former is primarily driven by the latter. Furthermore, the analysis of the past three solar cycles with GOES/EPS indicates that the semi-annual variation at geosynchronous orbit is evident during the descending phases and coincides with periods of a higher (lower) high-speed stream (HSS) (interplanetary coronal mass ejection, ICME) occurrence.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Katsavrias ◽  
Ioannis A. Daglis ◽  
Afroditi Nasi ◽  
Constantinos Papadimitriou ◽  
Marina Georgiou

&lt;p&gt;Radial diffusion has been established as one of the most important mechanisms contributing the acceleration and loss of relativistic electrons in the outer radiation belt. Over the past few years efforts have been devoted to provide empirical relationships of radial diffusion coefficients (D&lt;sub&gt;LL&lt;/sub&gt;) for radiation belt simulations yet several studies have suggested that the difference between the various models can be orders of magnitude different at high levels of geomagnetic activity as the observed D&lt;sub&gt;LL&lt;/sub&gt; have been shown to be highly event-specific. In the frame of SafeSpace project we have used 12 years (2009 &amp;#8211; 2020) of multi-point magnetic and electric field measurements from THEMIS A, D and E satellites to create a database of calculated D&lt;sub&gt;LL&lt;/sub&gt;. In this work we present the first statistics on the evolution of D&lt;sub&gt;LL &lt;/sub&gt;during the various phases of Solar cycle 24 with respect to the various solar wind parameters and geomagnetic indices.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme &amp;#8220;SafeSpace&amp;#8221; under grant agreement No 870437.&lt;/p&gt;


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Lara ◽  
Pablo S. Moya ◽  
Victor Pinto ◽  
Javier Silva ◽  
Beatriz Zenteno

&lt;p&gt;The inner magnetosphere is a very important region to study, as with satellite-based communications increasing day after day, possible disruptions are especially relevant due to the possible consequences in our daily life. It is becoming very important to know how the radiation belts behave, especially during strong geomagnetic activity. The radiation belts response to geomagnetic storms and solar wind conditions is still not fully understood, as relativistic electron fluxes in the outer radiation belt can be depleted, enhanced or not affected following intense activity. Different studies show how these results vary in the face of different events. As one of the main mechanisms affecting the dynamics of the radiation belt are wave-particle interactions between relativistic electrons and ULF waves. In this work we perform a statistical study of the relationship between ULF wave power and relativistic electron fluxes in the outer radiation belt during several geomagnetic storms, by using magnetic field and particle fluxes data measured by the Van Allen Probes between 2012 and 2017. We evaluate the correlation between the changes in flux and the cumulative effect of ULF wave activity during the main and recovery phases of the storms for different position in the outer radiation belt and energy channels. Our results show that there is a good correlation between the presence of ULF waves and the changes in flux during the recovery phase of the storm and that correlations vary as a function of energy. Also, we can see in detail how the ULF power change for the electron flux at different L-shell We expect these results to be relevant for the understanding of the relative role of ULF waves in the enhancements and depletions of energetic electrons in the radiation belts for condition described.&lt;/p&gt;


2021 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 7-11
Author(s):  
Elena Antonova ◽  

We analyzed the problems of formation of the outer radiation belt (ORB) taking into consideration the latest changes in our understanding of the high-latitude magnetospheric topology. This includes strong evidence that the auroral oval maps to the outer part of the ring current, meanwhile the ORB polar boundary maps inside the auroral oval. Our analysis also includes the variation of the plasma pressure distribution and the time of the acceleration of relativistic electrons during geomagnetic storm. It is shown that the maximum of ORB is formed after the geomagnetic storm in the region of plasma pressure maximum. The position of this maximum agrees with the prediction of the ORB formation theory based on the analysis of ring current development during storm. We emphasize the role of adiabatic processes in the ORB dynamics and the importance of the substorm injections during storm recovery phase for the formation of enhanced fluxes of ORB electrons after the storm.


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