Bibliography
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Found 83 entries in the Bibliography.
Showing entries from 1 through 50
| 2019 |
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Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves and magnetosonic waves are commonly observed in the Earth\textquoterights magnetosphere associated with enhanced ring current activity. Using wave and ion measurements from the Van Allen Probes, we identify clear correlations between the hydrogen- and helium-band EMIC waves with the enhancement of trapped helium and oxygen ion fluxes, respectively. We calculate the diffusion coefficients of different ion species using quasi-linear theory to understand the effects of resonant scattering by EMIC waves. Our calculations indicate that EMIC waves can cause pitch angle scattering loss of several keV to hundreds of keV ions, and heating of tens of eV to several keV helium and oxygen ions by hydrogen- and helium-band EMIC waves, respectively. Moreover, we found that magnetosonic waves can cause the resonant heating of thermal protons. Our study indicates the importance of energy transfer from the EMIC and magnetosonic waves to ions with different species at thermal energies. Ma, Q.; Li, W.; Yue, C.; Thorne, R.; Bortnik, J.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Reeves, G.; Spence, H.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 06/2019 YEAR: 2019 DOI: 10.1029/2019GL083513 electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves; Ion heating; Quasilinear modeling; Resonant interaction in plasmasphere; ring current; Van Allen Probes; Van Allen Probes observation |
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Nonlinear Electron Interaction With Intense Chorus Waves: Statistics of Occurrence Rates A comprehensive statistical analysis on 8 years of lower-band chorus wave packets measured by the Van Allen Probes and THEMIS spacecraft is performed to examine whether, when, and where these waves are above the theoretical threshold for nonlinear resonant wave-particle interaction. We find that \~5\textendash30\% of all chorus waves interact nonlinearly with \~30- to 300-keV electrons possessing equatorial pitch angles of >40\textdegree in the outer radiation belt, especially during disturbed (AE>500 nT) periods with energetic particles associated with injections from the plasma sheet. Such considerable occurrence rates of nonlinear interactions imply that the evolution of energetic electron fluxes should be dominated by nonlinear effects, rather than by quasi-linear diffusion as commonly assumed. We discuss the possible consequences of such a large amount of high-amplitude chorus waves and examine their characteristics that can influence the efficiency of nonlinear wave-particle interactions. Zhang, X.-J.; Mourenas, D.; Artemyev, A.; Angelopoulos, V.; Bortnik, J.; Thorne, R.; Kurth, W.; Kletzing, C.; Hospodarsky, G.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 06/2019 YEAR: 2019 DOI: 10.1029/2019GL083833 chorus waves; Electron acceleration; nonlinear wave particle interaction; THEMIS; Van Allen Probes; wave packet size |
| 2018 |
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Resonant electron interaction with whistler-mode chorus waves is recognized as one of the main drivers of radiation belt dynamics. For moderate wave intensity, this interaction is well described by quasi-linear theory. However, recent statistics of parallel propagating chorus waves have demonstrated that 5 - 20\% of the observed waves are sufficiently intense to interact nonlinearly with electrons. Such interactions include phase trapping and phase bunching (nonlinear scattering) effects not described by quasi-linear diffusion. For sufficiently long (large) wave-packets, these nonlinear effects can result in very rapid electron acceleration and scattering. In this paper we introduce a method to include trapping and nonlinear scattering into the kinetic equation describing the evolution of the electron distribution function. We use statistics of Van Allen Probes and Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) observations to determine the probability distribution of intense, long wave-packets as a function of power and frequency. Then we develop an analytical model of individual particle resonance with an intense chorus wave-packet and derive the main properties of this interaction: probability of electron trapping, energy change due to trapping and nonlinear scattering. These properties are combined in a nonlocal operator acting on the electron distribution function. When multiple waves are present, we average the obtained operator over the observed distributions of waves and examine solutions of the resultant kinetic equation. We also examine energy conservation and its implications in systems with nonlinear wave-particle interaction. Vainchtein, D.; Zhang, X.-J.; Artemyev, A.; Mourenas, D.; Angelopoulos, V.; Thorne, R.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 09/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025654 |
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The composition of plasma inside geostationary orbit based on Van Allen Probes observations The composition of the inner magnetosphere is of great importance for determining the plasma pressure, and thus the currents and magnetic field configuration. In this study, we perform a statistical survey of equatorial plasma pressure distributions and investigate the relative contributions of ions and electron with different energies inside of geostationary orbit under two AE levels based on over sixty months of observations from the HOPE and RBSPICE mass spectrometers on board Van Allen Probes. We find that the total and partial pressures of different species increase significantly at high AE levels with Hydrogen (H+) pressure being dominant in the plasmasphere. The pressures of the heavy ions and electrons increase outside the plasmapause and develop a strong dawn-dusk asymmetry with ion pressures peaking at dusk and electron pressure peaking at dawn. In addition, ring current H+ with energies ranging from 50 keV up to several hundred keV is the dominant component of plasma pressure during both quiet (> 90\%) and active times (> 60\%), while Oxygen (O+) with 10 < E < 50 keV and electrons with 0.1 < E < 40 keV become important during active times contributing more than 25\% and 20\% on the nightside, respectively, while the Helium (He+) contribution is generally small. The results presented in this study provide a global picture of the equatorial plasma pressure distributions and the associated contributions from different species with different energy ranges, which advance our knowledge of wave generation and provide models with a systematic baseline of plasma composition. Yue, Chao; Bortnik, Jacob; Li, Wen; Ma, Qianli; Gkioulidou, Matina; Reeves, Geoffrey; Wang, Chih-Ping; Thorne, Richard; T. Y. Lui, Anthony; Gerrard, Andrew; Spence, Harlan; Mitchell, Donald; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 07/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025344 ion composition; plasma pressure; Plasmapause; Van Allen Probes |
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Determining solar wind and geomagnetic activity parameters most favorable to strong electron flux enhancements is an important step towards forecasting radiation belt dynamics. Using electron flux measurements from Global Positioning System satellites at L = 4.2 in 2009-2016, we seek statistical relationships between flux enhancements at different energies and solar wind dynamic pressure Pdyn, AE, and Kp, from hundreds of events inside and outside the plasmasphere. Most ⩾1 MeV electron flux enhancements occur during non-storm (or weak storm) times. Flux enhancements of 4 MeV electrons outside the plasmasphere occur during periods of low Pdyn and high AE. We perform superposed epoch analyses of GPS electron fluxes, along with solar wind and geomagnetic indices, 40 keV electron flux, ULF wave index from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), and chorus wave intensity from the Van Allen Probes and Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission. We demonstrate that 4 MeV electron flux enhancements outside the plasmasphere start when the interplanetary magnetic field (Bz) reaches a minimum, and develop during periods of low Pdyn, high AE, low but increasing Dst, moderate ULF wave index, and intense chorus waves. Flux enhancements at 100 keV occur under conditions with higher Pdyn, higher ULF wave index, and elevated 40 keV electron flux at L = 6.6. Moreover, electron flux enhancements take much more time to develop at higher energies. This suggests that 100 keV flux enhancements are dominated by injections, while MeV electron energization is predominantly induced by chorus waves with further amplification by inward transport. Zhang, X.-J.; Mourenas, D.; Artemyev, A.; Angelopoulos, V.; Thorne, R.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 06/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025497 chorus waves; Electron energization; Electron flux enhancements; GPS satellites; Radiation belt; Solar wind and geomagnetic activities; Van Allen Probes |
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Resonant interactions between electrons and chorus waves are responsible for a wide range of phenomena in near-Earth space (e.g., diffuse aurora, acceleration of MeV electrons, etc.). Although quasi-linear diffusion is believed to be the primary paradigm for describing such interactions, an increasing number of investigations suggest that nonlinear effects are also important in controlling the rapid dynamics of electrons. However, present models of nonlinear wave-particle interactions, which have been successfully used to describe individual short-term events, are not directly applicable for a statistical evaluation of nonlinear effects and the long-term dynamics of the outer radiation belt, because they lack information on the properties of intense (nonlinearly resonating with electrons) chorus waves. In this paper, we use the THEMIS and Van Allen Probes datasets of field-aligned chorus waveforms to study two key characteristics of these waves: effective amplitude w (nonlinear interaction can occur when w > 2) and wave-packet length β (the number of wave periods within it). While as many as 10 - 15\% of chorus wave-packets are sufficiently intense (w > 2 - 3) to interact nonlinearly with relativistic electrons, most of them are short (β < 10) reducing the efficacy of such interactions. Revised models of non-linear interactions are thus needed to account for the long-term effects of these common, intense but short chorus wave packets. We also discuss the dependence of w, β on location (MLT, L-shell) and on the properties of the suprathermal electron population. Zhang, X.-J.; Thorne, R.; Artemyev, A.; Mourenas, D.; Angelopoulos, V.; Bortnik, J.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 06/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025390 chorus waves; Effective amplitude; nonlinear wave-particle interaction; spatial distribution; statistics; Van Allen Probes; Wave-packet length |
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Electron nonlinear resonant interaction with short and intense parallel chorus wave-packets One of the major drivers of radiation belt dynamics, electron resonant interaction with whistler-mode chorus waves, is traditionally described using the quasi-linear diffusion approximation. Such a description satisfactorily explains many observed phenomena, but its applicability can be justified only for sufficiently low intensity, long duration waves. Recent spacecraft observations of a large number of very intense lower band chorus waves (with magnetic field amplitudes sometimes reaching \~1\% of the background) therefore challenge this traditional description, and call for an alternative approach when addressing the global, long-term effects of the nonlinear interaction of these waves with radiation belt electrons. In this paper, we first use observations from the Van Allen Probes and Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft to show that the majority of intense parallel chorus waves consists of relatively short wave-packets. Then, we construct a kinetic equation describing the nonlinear resonant interaction of radiation belt electrons with such short and intense wave-packets. We demonstrate that this peculiar type of nonlinear interaction produces similar effects as quasi-linear diffusion, i.e., a flattening of the electron velocity distribution function within a certain energy/pitch-angle range. The main difference is the much faster evolution of the electron distribution when nonlinear interaction prevails. Mourenas, D.; Zhang, X.-J.; Artemyev, A.; Angelopoulos, V.; Thorne, R.; Bortnik, J.; Neishtadt, A.; Vasiliev, A.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 05/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025417 chorus waves; ; kinetic equation; nonlinear interaction; Radiation belts; short wave-packets; trapping; Van Allen Probes |
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We simulate the radiation belt electron flux enhancements during selected Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) challenge events to quantitatively compare the major processes involved in relativistic electron acceleration under different conditions. Van Allen Probes observed significant electron flux enhancement during both the storm time of 17\textendash18 March 2013 and non\textendashstorm time of 19\textendash20 September 2013, but the distributions of plasma waves and energetic electrons for the two events were dramatically different. During 17\textendash18 March 2013, the SYM-H minimum reached -130 nT, intense chorus waves (peak Bw ~140 pT) occurred at 3.5 < L < 5.5, and several hundred keV to several MeV electron fluxes increased by ~2 orders of magnitude mostly at 3.5 < L < 5.5. During 19\textendash20 September 2013, the SYM-H remained higher than -30 nT, modestly intense chorus waves (peak Bw ~80 pT) occurred at L > 5.5, and electron fluxes at energies up to 3 MeV increased by a factor of ~5 at L > 5.5. The two electron flux enhancement events were simulated using the available wave distribution and diffusion coefficients from the GEM focus group Quantitative Assessment of Radiation Belt Modeling. By comparing the individual roles of local electron heating and radial transport, our simulation indicates that resonant interaction with chorus waves is the dominant process that accounts for the electron flux enhancement during the storm time event particularly near the flux peak locations, while radial diffusion by ultralow-frequency waves plays a dominant role in the enhancement during the non\textendashstorm time event. Incorporation of both processes reasonably reproduces the observed location and magnitude of electron flux enhancement. Ma, Q.; Li, W.; Bortnik, J.; Thorne, R.; Chu, X.; Ozeke, L.; Reeves, G.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Engebretson, M.; Spence, H.; Baker, D.; Blake, J.; Fennell, J.; Claudepierre, S.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 03/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1002/2017JA025114 electron accelerationl whistler mode waves; radial diffusion; radiation belt simulation; Van Allen Probes; Van Allen Probes observation |
| 2017 |
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Satellite observations of a significant population of very oblique chorus waves in the outer radiation belt have fueled considerable interest in the effects of these waves on energetic electron scattering and acceleration. However, corresponding diffusion rates are extremely sensitive to the refractive index N, controlled by hot plasma effects including Landau damping and wave dispersion modifications by suprathermal (15\textendash100 eV) electrons. A combined investigation of wave and electron distribution characteristics obtained from the Van Allen Probes shows that peculiarities of the measured electron distribution significantly reduce Landau damping, allowing wave propagation with high N \~ 100\textendash200. Further comparing measured refractive indexes with theoretical estimates incorporating hot plasma corrections to the wave dispersion, we provide the first experimental demonstration that suprathermal electrons indeed control the upper limit of the refractive index of highly oblique whistler mode waves. Such results further support the importance of incorporating very oblique waves into radiation belt models. Ma, Q.; Artemyev, A.; Mourenas, D.; Li, W.; Thorne, R.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Reeves, G.; Spence, H.; Wygant, J.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 12/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2017GL075892 Landau damping; maximum refractive index; oblique chorus waves; thermal electron effects; Van Allen Probes; Van Allen Probes observation |
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Chorus Wave Modulation of Langmuir Waves in the Radiation Belts Using high-resolution waveforms measured by the Van Allen Probes, we report a novel observation in the radiation belts. Namely, we show that multiband, discrete, rising-tone whistler mode chorus emissions exhibit a one-to-one correlation with Langmuir wave bursts. Moreover, the periodic Langmuir wave bursts are generally observed at the phase location where the chorus wave E|| component is oriented opposite to its propagation direction. The electron measurements show a beam in phase space density at the particle velocity that matches the parallel phase velocity of the chorus waves. Based on this evidence, we conclude that the chorus waves accelerate the suprathermal electrons via Landau resonance and generate a localized electron beam in phase space density. Consequently, the Langmuir waves are excited locally and are modulated by the chorus wave phase. This microscale interaction between chorus waves and high-frequency electrostatic waves provides a new insight into the nonlinear wave-particle interaction process. Li, Jinxing; Bortnik, Jacob; An, Xin; Li, Wen; Thorne, Richard; Zhou, Meng; Kurth, William; Hospodarsky, George; Funsten, Herbert; Spence, Harlan; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 12/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2017GL075877 Chorus wave; Landau resonance; Langmuir wave; nonlinear interaction; Radiation belt; Van Allen Probes; wave modulation |
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A neural network model of three-dimensional dynamic electron density in the inner magnetosphere A plasma density model of the inner magnetosphere is important for a variety of applications including the study of wave-particle interactions, and wave excitation and propagation. Previous empirical models have been developed under many limiting assumptions and do not resolve short-term variations, which are especially important during storms. We present a three-dimensional dynamic electron density (DEN3D) model developed using a feedforward neural network with electron densities obtained from four satellite missions. The DEN3D model takes spacecraft location and time series of solar and geomagnetic indices (F10.7, SYM-H, and AL) as inputs. It can reproduce the observed density with a correlation coefficient of 0.95 and predict test data set with error less than a factor of 2. Its predictive ability on out-of-sample data is tested on field-aligned density profiles from the IMAGE satellite. DEN3D\textquoterights predictive ability provides unprecedented opportunities to gain insight into the 3-D behavior of the inner magnetospheric plasma density at any time and location. As an example, we apply DEN3D to a storm that occurred on 1 June 2013. It successfully reproduces various well-known dynamic features in three dimensions, such as plasmaspheric erosion and recovery, as well as plume formation. Storm time long-term density variations are consistent with expectations; short-term variations appear to be modulated by substorm activity or enhanced convection, an effect that requires further study together with multispacecraft in situ or imaging measurements. Investigating plasmaspheric refilling with the model, we find that it is not monotonic in time and is more complex than expected from previous studies, deserving further attention. Chu, X.; Bortnik, J.; Li, W.; Ma, Q.; Denton, R.; Yue, C.; Angelopoulos, V.; Thorne, R.; Darrouzet, F.; Ozhogin, P.; Kletzing, C.; Wang, Y.; Menietti, J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 09/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2017JA024464 |
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The characteristic response of whistler mode waves to interplanetary shocks Magnetospheric whistler mode waves play a key role in regulating the dynamics of the electron radiation belts. Recent satellite observations indicate a significant influence of interplanetary (IP) shocks on whistler mode wave power in the inner magnetosphere. In this study, we statistically investigate the response of whistler mode chorus and plasmaspheric hiss to IP shocks based on Van Allen Probes and THEMIS satellite observations. Immediately after the IP shock arrival, chorus wave power is usually intensified, often at post-midnight to pre-noon sector, while plasmaspheric hiss wave power predominantly decreases near the dayside but intensifies near the nightside. We conclude that chorus wave intensification outside the plasmasphere is probably associated with the suprathermal electron flux enhancement caused by the IP shock. Through a simple ray tracing modeling assuming the scenario that plasmaspheric hiss is originated from chorus, we find that the solar wind dynamic pressure increase changes the magnetic field configuration to favor ray penetration in the nightside and promote ray refraction away from the dayside, potentially explaining the magnetic local time (MLT) dependent responses of plasmaspheric hiss waves following IP shock arrivals. Yue, Chao; Chen, Lunjin; Bortnik, Jacob; Ma, Qianli; Thorne, Richard; Angelopoulos, Vassilis; Li, Jinxing; An, Xin; Zhou, Chen; Kletzing, Craig; Reeves, Geoffrey; Spence, Harlan; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 09/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2017JA024574 IP shocks; MLT dependent; Plasmaspheric Hiss; Ray Tracing; Van Allen Probes; whistler mode chorus |
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Diffusive transport of several hundred keV electrons in the Earth\textquoterights slot region We investigate the gradual diffusion of energetic electrons from the inner edge of the outer radiation belt into the slot region. The Van Allen Probes observed slow inward diffusion and decay of ~200-600 keV electrons following the intense geomagnetic storm that occurred on 17 March 2013. During the 10-day non-disturbed period following the storm, the peak of electron fluxes gradually moved from L~2.7 to L~2.4, and the flux levels decreased by a factor of ~2-4 depending on the electron energy. We simulated the radial intrusion and decay of electrons using a 3-dimentional diffusion code, which reproduced the energy-dependent transport of electrons from ~100 keV to 1 MeV in the slot region. At energies of 100-200 keV, the electrons experience fast transport across the slot region due to the dominance of radial diffusion; at energies of 200-600 keV, the electrons gradually diffuse and decay in the slot region due to the comparable rate of radial diffusion and pitch angle scattering by plasmaspheric hiss; at energies of E > 700 keV, the electrons stopped diffusing near the inner edge of outer radiation belt due to the dominant pitch angle scattering loss. In addition to plasmaspheric hiss, magnetosonic waves and VLF transmitters can cause the loss of high pitch angle electrons, relaxing the sharp \textquotelefttop-hat\textquoteright shaped pitch angle distributions created by plasmaspheric hiss. Our simulation indicates the importance of balance between radial diffusion and loss through pitch angle scattering in forming the diffusive intrusion of energetic electrons across the slot region. Ma, Q.; Li, W.; Thorne, R.; Bortnik, J.; Reeves, G.; Spence, H.; Turner, D.; Blake, J.; Fennell, J.; Claudepierre, S.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Baker, D.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 09/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2017JA024452 Electron transport; Energetic electron diffusion; pitch angle scattering; Slot region dynamics; Van Allen Probes; Van Allen Probes observation; Waves in plasmasphere |
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Understanding the source and loss processes of various plasma populations is greatly aided by having accurate knowledge of their pitch angle distributions (PADs). Here, we statistically analyze ~1 eV to 600 keV hydrogen (H+) PADs near the geomagnetic equator in the inner magnetosphere based on Van Allen Probes measurements, to comprehensively investigate how the H+ PADs vary with different energies, magnetic local times (MLTs), L-shells, and geomagnetic conditions. Our survey clearly indicates four distinct populations with different PADs: (1) a pancake distribution of the plasmaspheric H+ at low L-shells except for dawn sector; (2) a bi-directional field-aligned distribution of the warm plasma cloak; (3) pancake or isotropic distributions of ring current H+; (4) radiation belt particles show pancake, butterfly and isotropic distributions depending on their energy, MLT and L-shell. Meanwhile, the pancake distribution of ring current H+ moves to lower energies as L-shell increases which is primarily caused by adiabatic transport. Furthermore, energetic H+ (> 10 keV) PADs become more isotropic following the substorm injections, indicating wave-particle interactions. The radiation belt H+ butterfly distributions are identified in a narrow energy range of 100 < E < 400 keV at large L (L > 5), which are less significant during quiet times and extend from dusk to dawn sector through midnight during substorms. The different PADs near the equator provide clues of the underlying physical processes that produce the dynamics of these different populations. Yue, Chao; Bortnik, Jacob; Thorne, Richard; Ma, Qianli; An, Xin; Chappell, C.; Gerrard, Andrew; Lanzerotti, Louis; Shi, Quanqi; Reeves, Geoffrey; Spence, Harlan; Mitchell, Donald; Gkioulidou, Matina; Kletzing, Craig; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 08/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2017JA024421 bi-directional field-aligned; H+ Pitch angle distributions; plasmaspheric H+; radiation belt H+; ring current; Van Allen Probes; warm Plasma cloak |
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Contemporaneous EMIC and Whistler-Mode Waves: Observations and Consequences for MeV Electron Loss The high variability of relativistic (MeV) electron fluxes in the Earth\textquoterights radiation belts is partly controlled by loss processes involving resonant interactions with electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) and whistler-mode waves. But as previous statistical models were generated independently for each wave mode, whether simultaneous electron scattering by the two wave types has global importance remains an open question. Using >3 years of simultaneous Van Allen Probes and THEMIS measurements, we explore the contemporaneous presence of EMIC and whistler-mode waves in the same L-shell, albeit at different local times, determining the distribution of wave and plasma parameters as a function of L, Kp, and AE. We derive electron lifetimes from observations and provide the first statistics of combined effects of EMIC and whistler-mode wave scattering on MeV electrons as a function of L and geomagnetic activity. We show that MeV electron lifetimes are often strongly reduced by such combined scattering. Zhang, X.-J.; Mourenas, D.; Artemyev, A.; Angelopoulos, V.; Thorne, R.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 07/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2017GL073886 electron lifetime; EMIC waves; Rediation belts; relativistic electron loss; Van Allen Probes; wave particle interaction; WHISTLER-MODE WAVES |
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Whistler-mode Very Low Frequency (VLF) waves from powerful ground-based transmitters can resonantly scatter energetic plasmaspheric electrons and precipitate them into the atmosphere. A comprehensive 4-year statistics of Van Allen Probes measurements is carried out to assess their consequences on the dynamics of the inner radiation belt and slot region. Statistical models of the measured wave electric field power and of the inferred full wave magnetic amplitude are provided as a function of L, magnetic local time, season, and Kp over L=1-3, revealing the localization of VLF wave intensity and its variation with geomagnetic activity over 2012-2016. Since this VLF wave model can be directly used together with existing hiss and lightning-generated wave models in radiation belt simulation codes, we perform numerical calculations of the corresponding quasilinear pitch angle diffusion rates, allowing us to demonstrate the crucial role played by VLF waves from transmitters in energetic electron loss at L<2.5. Ma, Qianli; Mourenas, Didier; Li, Wen; Artemyev, Anton; Thorne, Richard; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 06/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2017GL073885 Electron scattering; Statistical wave model; Van Allen Probes; Van Allen Probes observation; VLF waves |
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We investigate a quiet-time event of magnetospheric Pc5 ultra low frequency (ULF) waves and their likely external drivers using multiple spacecraft observations. Enhancements of electric and magnetic field perturbations in two narrow frequency bands, 1.5-2 mHz and 3.5-4 mHz, were observed over a large radial distance range from r ~5 to 11 RE. During the first half of this event, perturbations were mainly observed in the transverse components and only in the 3.5-4 mHz band. In comparison, enhancements were stronger during the second half in both transverse and compressional components and in both frequency bands. No indication of field line resonances was found for these magnetic field perturbations. Perturbations in these two bands were also observed in the magnetosheath, but not in the solar wind dynamic pressure perturbations. For the first interval, good correlations between the flow perturbations in the magnetosphere and magnetosheath and an indirect signature for Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) vortices suggest K-H surface waves as the driver. For the second interval, good correlations are found between the magnetosheath dynamic pressure perturbations, magnetopause deformation, and magnetospheric waves, all in good correspondence to IMF discontinuities. The characteristics of these perturbations can be explained by being driven by foreshock perturbations resulting from these IMF discontinuities. This event shows that even during quiet periods, KH-unstable magnetopause and ion foreshock perturbations can combine to create a highly dynamic magnetospheric ULF wave environment. Wang, Chih-Ping; Thorne, Richard; Liu, Terry; Hartinger, Michael; Nagai, Tsugunobu; Angelopoulos, Vassilis; Wygant, John; Breneman, Aaron; Kletzing, Craig; Reeves, Geoffrey; Claudepierre, Seth; Spence, Harlan; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 04/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA023610 IMF discontinuity; inner magnetosphere; Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices; magnetosheath; Pc5 waves; plasma sheet; Van Allen Probes |
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Utilizing simultaneous twin Van Allen Probes observations of whistler mode waves at variable separations, we are able to distinguish the temporal variations from spatial variations, determine the coherence spatial scale, and suggest the possible mechanism of wave modulation. The two probes observed coherently modulated whistler mode waves simultaneously at an unexpectedly large distance up to ~4.3 RE over 3 h during a relatively quiet period. The modulation of 150\textendash500 Hz plasmaspheric hiss was correlated with whistler mode waves measured outside the plasmasphere across 3 h in magnetic local time and 3 L shells, revealing that the modulation was temporal in nature. We suggest that the coherent modulation of whistler mode waves was associated with the coherent ULF waves measured over a large scale, which modulate the plasmaspheric density and result in the modulation of hiss waves via local amplification. In a later period, the 500\textendash1500 Hz periodic rising-tone whistler mode waves were strongly correlated when the two probes traversed large spatial regions and even across the plasmapause. These periodic rising-tone emissions recurred with roughly the same period as the ULF wave, but there was no one-to-one correspondence, and a cross-correlation analysis suggests that they possibly originated from large L shells although the actual cause needs further investigation. Li, Jinxing; Bortnik, Jacob; Li, Wen; Thorne, Richard; Ma, Qianli; Chu, Xiangning; Chen, Lunjin; Kletzing, Craig; Kurth, William; Hospodarsky, George; Wygant, John; Breneman, Aaron; Thaller, Scott; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 02/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA023706 coherent waves; multisatellite; periodic rising tone; Van Allen Probes; whistler mode |
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Utilizing simultaneous twin Van Allen Probes observations of whistler mode waves at variable separations, we are able to distinguish the temporal variations from spatial variations, determine the coherence spatial scale, and suggest the possible mechanism of wave modulation. The two probes observed coherently modulated whistler mode waves simultaneously at an unexpectedly large distance up to ~4.3 RE over 3 h during a relatively quiet period. The modulation of 150\textendash500 Hz plasmaspheric hiss was correlated with whistler mode waves measured outside the plasmasphere across 3 h in magnetic local time and 3 L shells, revealing that the modulation was temporal in nature. We suggest that the coherent modulation of whistler mode waves was associated with the coherent ULF waves measured over a large scale, which modulate the plasmaspheric density and result in the modulation of hiss waves via local amplification. In a later period, the 500\textendash1500 Hz periodic rising-tone whistler mode waves were strongly correlated when the two probes traversed large spatial regions and even across the plasmapause. These periodic rising-tone emissions recurred with roughly the same period as the ULF wave, but there was no one-to-one correspondence, and a cross-correlation analysis suggests that they possibly originated from large L shells although the actual cause needs further investigation. Li, Jinxing; Bortnik, Jacob; Li, Wen; Thorne, Richard; Ma, Qianli; Chu, Xiangning; Chen, Lunjin; Kletzing, Craig; Kurth, William; Hospodarsky, George; Wygant, John; Breneman, Aaron; Thaller, Scott; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 02/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA023706 coherent waves; multisatellite; periodic rising tone; Van Allen Probes; whistler mode |
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Transitional behavior of different energy protons based on Van Allen Probes observations Understanding the dynamical behavior of ~1 eV to 50 keV ions and identifying the energies at which the morphologies transit are important in that they involve the relative intensities and distributions of the large-scale electric and magnetic fields, the outflow, and recombination rates. However, there have been only few direct observational investigations of the transition in drift behaviors of different energy ions before the Van Allen Probes era. Here we statistically analyze ~1 eV to 50 keV hydrogen (H+) differential flux distributions near geomagnetic equator by using Van Allen Probes observations to investigate the H+ dynamics under the regulation of large-scale electric and magnetic fields. Our survey clearly indicates three types of H+ behaviors within different energy ranges, which is consistent with previous theory predictions. Using simple electric and magnetic field models in UBK coordinates, we have further constrained the source regions of different energy ions and their drift directions. Yue, Chao; Bortnik, Jacob; Chen, Lunjin; Ma, Qianli; Thorne, Richard; Reeves, Geoffrey; Spence, Harlan; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 01/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2016GL071324 |
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An interesting form of \textquotedblleftzipper-like\textquotedblright magnetosonic waves consisting of two bands of interleaved periodic rising-tone spectra was newly observed by the Van Allen Probes, the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS), and the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) missions. The two discrete bands are distinct in frequency and intensity; however, they maintain the same periodicity which varies in space and time, suggesting that they possibly originate from one single source intrinsically. In one event, the zipper-like magnetosonic waves exhibit the same periodicity as a constant-frequency magnetosonic wave and an electrostatic emission, but the modulation comes from neither density fluctuations nor ULF waves. A statistical survey based on 3.5 years of multisatellite observations shows that zipper-like magnetosonic waves mainly occur on the dawnside to noonside, in a frequency range between 10 fcp and fLHR. The zipper-like magnetosonic waves may provide a new clue to nonlinear excitation or modulation process, while its cause still remains to be fully understood. Li, J.; Bortnik, J.; Li, W.; Ma, Q.; Thorne, R.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Wygant, J.; Breneman, A.; Thaller, S.; Funsten, H.; Mitchell, D.; Manweiler, J.; Torbert, R.; Le Contel, O.; Ergun, R.; Lindqvist, P.-A.; Torkar, K.; Nakamura, R.; Andriopoulou, M.; Russell, C.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 01/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA023536 magnetosonic wave; Radiation belt; rising-tone; Van Allen Probes; zipper-like |
| 2016 |
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Statistical distribution of EMIC wave spectra: Observations from Van Allen Probes It has been known that electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves can precipitate ultrarelativistic electrons through cyclotron resonant scattering. However, the overall effectiveness of this mechanism has yet to be quantified, because it is difficult to obtain the global distribution of EMIC waves that usually exhibit limited spatial presence. We construct a statistical distribution of EMIC wave frequency spectra and their intensities based on Van Allen Probes measurements from September 2012 to December 2015. Our results show that as the ratio of plasma frequency over electron gyrofrequency increases, EMIC wave power becomes progressively dominated by the helium band. There is a pronounced dawn-dusk asymmetry in the wave amplitude and the frequency spectrum. The frequency spectrum does not follow the commonly used single-peak Gaussian function. Incorporating these realistic EMIC wave frequency spectra into radiation belt models is expected to improve the quantification of EMIC wave scattering effects in ultrarelativistic electron dynamics. Zhang, X.-J.; Li, W.; Thorne, R.; Angelopoulos, V.; Bortnik, J.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 12/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016GL071158 EMIC waves; magnetic storm; outer radiation belt; relativistic electron loss; Van Allen Probes; Wave-particle interaction |
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Transitional behavior of different energy protons based on Van Allen Probes observations Understanding the dynamical behavior of ~1 eV to 50 keV ions and identifying the energies at which the morphologies transit are important in that they involve the relative intensities and distributions of the large-scale electric and magnetic fields, the outflow and recombination rates. However, there have been only few direct observational investigations of the transition in drift behaviors of different energy ions before the Van Allen Probes era. Here, we statistically analyze ~1 eV to 50 keV Hydrogen (H+) differential flux distributions near geomagnetic equator by using Van Allen Probes observations to investigate the H+ dynamics under the regulation of large-scale electric and magnetic fields. Our survey clearly indicates three types of H+ behaviors within different energy ranges, which is consistent with previous theory predictions. Using simple electric and magnetic field models in UBK coordinates, we have further constrained the source regions of different energy ions and their drift directions. Yue, Chao; Bortnik, Jacob; Chen, Lunjin; Ma, Qianli; Thorne, Richard; Reeves, Geoffrey; Spence, Harlan; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 12/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016GL071324 |
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Characteristic energy range of electron scattering due to plasmaspheric hiss We investigate the characteristic energy range of electron flux decay due to the interaction with plasmaspheric hiss in the Earth\textquoterights inner magnetosphere. The Van Allen Probes have measured the energetic electron flux decay profiles in the Earth\textquoterights outer radiation belt during a quiet period following the geomagnetic storm that occurred on 7 November 2015. The observed energy of significant electron decay increases with decreasing L shell and is well correlated with the energy band corresponding to the first adiabatic invariant μ = 4\textendash200 MeV/G. The electron diffusion coefficients due to hiss scattering are calculated at L = 2\textendash6, and the modeled energy band of effective pitch angle scattering is also well correlated with the constant μ lines and is consistent with the observed energy range of electron decay. Using the previously developed statistical plasmaspheric hiss model during modestly disturbed periods, we perform a 2-D Fokker-Planck simulation of the electron phase space density evolution at L = 3.5 and demonstrate that plasmaspheric hiss causes the significant decay of 100 keV\textendash1 MeV electrons with the largest decay rate occurring at around 340 keV, forming anisotropic pitch angle distributions at lower energies and more flattened distributions at higher energies. Our study provides reasonable estimates of the electron populations that can be most significantly affected by plasmaspheric hiss and the consequent electron decay profiles. Ma, Q.; Li, W.; Thorne, R.; Bortnik, J.; Reeves, G.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Spence, H.; Baker, D.; Blake, J.; Fennell, J.; Claudepierre, S.; Angelopoulos, V.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 11/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA023311 electron flux decay; pitch angle scattering; Plasmaspheric Hiss; Van Allen Probes; Van Allen Probes observation |
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Three mechanisms have been proposed to explain relativistic electron flux depletions (dropouts) in the Earth\textquoterights outer radiation belt during storm times: adiabatic expansion of electron drift shells due to a decrease in magnetic field strength, magnetopause shadowing and subsequent outward radial diffusion, and precipitation into the atmosphere (driven by EMIC wave scattering). Which mechanism predominates in causing electron dropouts commonly observed in the outer radiation belt is still debatable. In the present study, we evaluate the physical mechanism that may be primarily responsible for causing the sudden change in relativistic electron pitch angle distributions during a dropout event observed by Van Allen Probes during the main phase of the 27 February 2014 storm. During this event, the phase space density of ultrarelativistic (>1 MeV) electrons was depleted by more than 1 order of magnitude over the entire radial extent of the outer radiation belt (3 < L* < 5) in less than 6 h after the passage of an interplanetary shock. We model the electron pitch angle distribution under a compressed magnetic field topology based on actual solar wind conditions. Although these ultrarelativistic electrons exhibit highly anisotropic (peaked in 90\textdegree), energy-dependent pitch angle distributions, which appear to be associated with the typical EMIC wave scattering, comparison of the modeled electron distribution to electron measurements indicates that drift shell splitting is responsible for this rapid change in electron pitch angle distributions. This further indicates that magnetopause loss is the predominant cause of the electron dropout right after the shock arrival. Zhang, X.-J.; Li, W.; Thorne, R.; Angelopoulos, V.; Ma, Q.; Li, J.; Bortnik, J.; Nishimura, Y.; Chen, L.; Baker, D.; Reeves, G.; Spence, H.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Blake, J.; Fennell, J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 09/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA022517 Drift shell splitting; dropouts; magnetic storm; magnetopause shadowing; outer radiation belt; relativistic electron loss; Van Allen Probes |
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Unraveling the excitation mechanisms of highly oblique lower band chorus waves Excitation mechanisms of highly oblique, quasi-electrostatic lower band chorus waves are investigated using Van Allen Probes observations near the equator of the Earth\textquoterights magnetosphere. Linear growth rates are evaluated based on in situ, measured electron velocity distributions and plasma conditions and compared with simultaneously observed wave frequency spectra and wave normal angles. Accordingly, two distinct excitation mechanisms of highly oblique lower band chorus have been clearly identified for the first time. The first mechanism relies on cyclotron resonance with electrons possessing both a realistic temperature anisotropy at keV energies and a plateau at 100\textendash500 eV in the parallel velocity distribution. The second mechanism corresponds to Landau resonance with a 100\textendash500 eV beam. In both cases, a small low-energy beam-like component is necessary for suppressing an otherwise dominating Landau damping. Our new findings suggest that small variations in the electron distribution could have important impacts on energetic electron dynamics. Li, W.; Mourenas, D.; Artemyev, A.; Bortnik, J.; Thorne, R.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Reeves, G.; Funsten, H.; Spence, H.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 09/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/grl.v43.1710.1002/2016GL070386 beam instability; lower band chorus; oblique chorus excitation; temperature anisotropy; Van Allen Probes |
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Plasma kinetic theory predicts that a sufficiently anisotropic electron distribution will excite whistler mode waves, which in turn relax the electron distribution in such a way as to create an upper bound on the relaxed electron anisotropy. Here using whistler mode chorus wave and plasma measurements by Van Allen Probes, we confirm that the electron distributions are well constrained by this instability to a marginally stable state in the whistler mode chorus waves generation region. Lower band chorus waves are organized by the electron β||e into two distinct groups: (i) relatively large-amplitude, quasi-parallel waves with inline image and (ii) relatively small-amplitude, oblique waves with inline image. The upper band chorus waves also have enhanced amplitudes close to the instability threshold, with large-amplitude waves being quasi-parallel whereas small-amplitude waves being oblique. These results provide important insight for studying the excitation of whistler mode chorus waves. Yue, Chao; An, Xin; Bortnik, Jacob; Ma, Qianli; Li, Wen; Thorne, Richard; Reeves, Geoffrey; Gkioulidou, Matina; Mitchell, Donald; Kletzing, Craig; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 08/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016GL070084 beta parallel; electron temperature anisotropy; marginally stable state; oblique waves; quasi-parallel waves; Van Allen Probes; whistler mode chorus waves |
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Direct evidence for EMIC wave scattering of relativistic electrons in space Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves have been proposed to cause efficient losses of highly relativistic (>1 MeV) electrons via gyroresonant interactions. Simultaneous observations of EMIC waves and equatorial electron pitch angle distributions, which can be used to directly quantify the EMIC wave scattering effect, are still very limited, however. In the present study, we evaluate the effect of EMIC waves on pitch angle scattering of ultrarelativistic (>1 MeV) electrons during the main phase of a geomagnetic storm, when intense EMIC wave activity was observed in situ (in the plasma plume region with high plasma density) on both Van Allen Probes. EMIC waves captured by Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) probes and on the ground across the Canadian Array for Real-time Investigations of Magnetic Activity (CARISMA) are also used to infer their magnetic local time (MLT) coverage. From the observed EMIC wave spectra and local plasma parameters, we compute wave diffusion rates and model the evolution of electron pitch angle distributions. By comparing model results with local observations of pitch angle distributions, we show direct, quantitative evidence of EMIC wave-driven relativistic electron losses in the Earth\textquoterights outer radiation belt. Zhang, X.-J.; Li, W.; Ma, Q.; Thorne, R.; Angelopoulos, V.; Bortnik, J.; Chen, L.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Baker, D.; Reeves, G.; Spence, H.; Blake, J.; Fennell, J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 07/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA022521 electron precipitation; EMIC waves; equatorial pitch angle distribution; Fokker-Planck equation; relativistic electron loss; Van Allen Probes; Wave-particle interaction |
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Various physical processes are known to cause acceleration, loss, and transport of energetic electrons in the Earth\textquoterights radiation belts, but their quantitative roles in different time and space need further investigation. During the largest storm over the past decade (17 March 2015), relativistic electrons experienced fairly rapid acceleration up to ~7 MeV within 2 days after an initial substantial dropout, as observed by Van Allen Probes. In the present paper, we evaluate the relative roles of various physical processes during the recovery phase of this large storm using a 3-D diffusion simulation. By quantitatively comparing the observed and simulated electron evolution, we found that chorus plays a critical role in accelerating electrons up to several MeV near the developing peak location and produces characteristic flat-top pitch angle distributions. By only including radial diffusion, the simulation underestimates the observed electron acceleration, while radial diffusion plays an important role in redistributing electrons and potentially accelerates them to even higher energies. Moreover, plasmaspheric hiss is found to provide efficient pitch angle scattering losses for hundreds of keV electrons, while its scattering effect on > 1 MeV electrons is relatively slow. Although an additional loss process is required to fully explain the overestimated electron fluxes at multi-MeV, the combined physical processes of radial diffusion and pitch angle and energy diffusion by chorus and hiss reproduce the observed electron dynamics remarkably well, suggesting that quasi-linear diffusion theory is reasonable to evaluate radiation belt electron dynamics during this big storm. Li, W.; Ma, Q.; Thorne, R.; Bortnik, J.; Zhang, X.-J.; Li, J.; Baker, D.; Reeves, G.; Spence, H.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Blake, J.; Fennell, J.; Kanekal, S.; Angelopoulos, V.; Green, J.; Goldstein, J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 06/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/jgra.v121.610.1002/2016JA022400 chorus-driven local acceleration; Electron acceleration; radial diffusion; Van Allen Probes |
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Interactions between interplanetary (IP) shocks and the Earth\textquoterights magnetosphere manifest many important space physics phenomena including low-energy ion flux enhancements and particle acceleration. In order to investigate the mechanisms driving shock-induced enhancement of low-energy ion flux, we have examined two IP shock events that occurred when the Van Allen Probes were located near the equator while ionospheric and ground observations were available around the spacecraft footprints. We have found that, associated with the shock arrival, electromagnetic fields intensified, and low-energy ion fluxes, including H+, He+, and O+, were enhanced dramatically in both the parallel and perpendicular directions. During the 2 October 2013 shock event, both parallel and perpendicular flux enhancements lasted more than 20 min with larger fluxes observed in the perpendicular direction. In contrast, for the 15 March 2013 shock event, the low-energy perpendicular ion fluxes increased only in the first 5 min during an impulse of electric field, while the parallel flux enhancement lasted more than 30 min. In addition, ionospheric outflows were observed after shock arrivals. From a simple particle motion calculation, we found that the rapid response of low-energy ions is due to drifts of plasmaspheric population by the enhanced electric field. However, the fast acceleration in the perpendicular direction cannot solely be explained by E \texttimes B drift but betatron acceleration also plays a role. Adiabatic acceleration may also explain the fast response of the enhanced parallel ion fluxes, while ion outflows may contribute to the enhanced parallel fluxes that last longer than the perpendicular fluxes. Yue, Chao; Li, Wen; Nishimura, Yukitoshi; Zong, Qiugang; Ma, Qianli; Bortnik, Jacob; Thorne, Richard; Reeves, Geoffrey; Spence, Harlan; Kletzing, Craig; Wygant, John; Nicolls, Michael; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 06/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA022808 adiabatic accelerations; enhancement of low-energy ion flux; ionospheric ion outflows; response to IP shocks; Van Allen Probes |
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New Chorus Wave Properties Near the Equator from Van Allen Probes Wave Observations The chorus wave properties are evaluated using Van Allen Probes data in the Earth\textquoterights equatorial magnetosphere. Two distinct modes of lower band chorus are identified: a quasi-parallel mode and a quasi-electrostatic mode, whose wave normal direction is close to the resonance cone. Statistical results indicate that the quasi-electrostatic (quasi-parallel) mode preferentially occurs during relatively quiet (disturbed) geomagnetic activity at lower (higher) L shells. Although the magnetic intensity of the quasi-electrostatic mode is considerably weaker than the quasi-parallel mode, their electric intensities are comparable. A newly identified feature of the quasi-electrostatic mode is that its frequency peaks at higher values compared to the quasi-parallel mode that exhibits a broad frequency spectrum. Moreover, upper band chorus wave normal directions vary between 0\textdegree and the resonance cone and become more parallel as geomagnetic activity increases. Our new findings suggest that chorus-driven energetic electron dynamics needs a careful examination by considering the properties of these two distinct modes. Li, W.; Santolik, O.; Bortnik, J.; Thorne, R.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 05/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016GL068780 Chorus wave; oblique; quasi-electrostatic; quasi-parallel; Van Allen Probes; wave normal angles |
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The radial and local diffusion processes induced by various plasma waves govern the highly energetic electron dynamics in the Earth\textquoterights radiation belts, causing distinct characteristics in electron distributions at various energies. In this study, we present our simulation results of the energetic electron evolution during a geomagnetic storm using the University of California, Los Angeles 3-D diffusion code. Following the plasma sheet electron injections, the electrons at different energy bands detected by the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) and Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) instruments on board the Van Allen Probes exhibit a rapid enhancement followed by a slow diffusive movement in differential energy fluxes, and the radial extent to which electrons can penetrate into depends on energy with closer penetration toward the Earth at lower energies than higher energies. We incorporate radial diffusion, local acceleration, and loss processes due to whistler mode wave observations to perform a 3-D diffusion simulation. Our simulation results demonstrate that chorus waves cause electron flux increase by more than 1 order of magnitude during the first 18 h, and the subsequent radial extents of the energetic electrons during the storm recovery phase are determined by the coupled radial diffusion and the pitch angle scattering by EMIC waves and plasmaspheric hiss. The radial diffusion caused by ULF waves and local plasma wave scattering are energy dependent, which lead to the observed electron flux variations with energy dependences. This study suggests that plasma wave distributions in the inner magnetosphere are crucial for the energy-dependent intrusions of several hundred keV to several MeV electrons. Ma, Q.; Li, W.; Thorne, R.; Nishimura, Y.; Zhang, X.-J.; Reeves, G.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Henderson, M.; Spence, H.; Baker, D.; Blake, J.; Fennell, J.; Angelopoulos, V.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 05/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA022507 electron acceleration and loss; energy-dependent diffusion; radial diffusion; radiation belt simulation; Van Allen Probes |
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Electron butterfly distribution modulation by magnetosonic waves The butterfly pitch angle distribution is observed as a dip in an otherwise normal distribution of electrons centered about αeq=90\textdegree. During storm times, the formation of the butterfly distribution on the nightside magnetosphere has been attributed to L shell splitting combined with magnetopause shadowing and strong positive radial flux gradients. It has been shown that this distribution can be caused by combined chorus and magnetosonic wave scattering where the two waves work together but at different local times. Presented in our study is an event on 21 August 2013, using Van Allen Probe measurements, where a butterfly distribution formation is modulated by local magnetosonic coherent magnetosonic waves intensity. Transition from normal to butterfly distributions coincides with rising magnetosonic wave intensity while an opposite transition occurs when wave intensity diminishes. We propose that bounce resonance with waves is the underlying process responsible for such rapid modulation, which is confirmed by our test particle simulation. Maldonado, Armando; Chen, Lunjin; Claudepierre, Seth; Bortnik, Jacob; Thorne, Richard; Spence, Harlan; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 04/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016GL068161 butterfly; electron; magnetosonic; Magnetosphere; Van Allen Probes; wave particle interaction |
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Formation of Energetic Electron Butterfly Distributions by Magnetosonic Waves via Landau Resonance Radiation belt electrons can exhibit different types of pitch angle distributions in response to various magnetospheric processes. Butterfly distributions, characterized by flux minima at pitch angles around 90\textdegree, are broadly observed in both the outer and inner belts and the slot region. Butterfly distributions close to the outer magnetospheric boundary have been attributed to drift shell splitting and losses to the magnetopause. However, their occurrence in the inner belt and the slot region has hitherto not been resolved. By analyzing the particle and wave data collected by the Van Allen Probes during a geomagnetic storm, we combine test particle calculations and Fokker-Planck simulations to reveal that scattering by equatorial magnetosonic waves is a significant cause for the formation of energetic electron butterfly distributions in the inner magnetosphere. Another event shows that a large-amplitude magnetosonic wave in the outer belt can create electron butterfly distributions in just a few minutes. Li, Jinxing; Ni, Binbin; Ma, Qianli; Xie, Lun; Pu, Zuyin; Fu, Suiyan; Thorne, R.; Bortnik, J.; Chen, Lunjin; Li, Wen; Baker, Daniel; Kletzing, Craig; Kurth, William; Hospodarsky, George; Fennell, Joseph; Reeves, Geoffrey; Spence, Harlan; Funsten, Herbert; Summers, Danny; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 04/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016GL067853 butterfly distributions; energetic electrons; Landau resonance; magnetosonic waves; Radiation belt; Van Allen Probes |
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The Van Allen Probe observations during the recovery phase of a large storm that occurred on 17 March 2015 showed that the ultrarelativistic electrons at the inner boundary of the outer radiation belt (L* = 2.6\textendash3.7) exhibited butterfly pitch angle distributions, while the inner belt and the slot region also showed evidence of sub-MeV electron butterfly distributions. Strong magnetosonic waves were observed in the same regions and at the same time periods as these butterfly distributions. Moreover, when these magnetosonic waves extended to higher altitudes (L* = 4.1), the butterfly distributions also extended to the same region. Combining test particle calculations and Fokker-Planck diffusion simulations, we successfully reproduced the formation of the ultrarelativistic electron butterfly distributions, which primarily result from parallel acceleration caused by Landau resonance with magnetosonic waves. The coexistence of ultrarelativistic electron butterfly distributions with magnetosonic waves was also observed in the 24 June 2015 storm, providing further support that the magnetosonic waves play a key role in forming butterfly distributions. Li, Jinxing; Bortnik, Jacob; Thorne, Richard; Li, Wen; Ma, Qianli; Baker, Daniel; Reeves, Geoffrey; Fennell, Joseph; Spence, Harlan; Kletzing, Craig; Kurth, William; Hospodarsky, George; Angelopoulos, Vassilis; Blake, Bernard.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 04/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA022370 butterfly distributions; Landau resonance; magnetosonic waves; Radiation belt; Van Allen Probes |
| 2015 |
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Electron scattering by magnetosonic waves in the inner magnetosphere We investigate the importance of electron scattering by magnetosonic waves in the Earth\textquoterights inner magnetosphere. A statistical survey of the magnetosonic wave amplitude and wave frequency spectrum, as a function of geomagnetic activity, is performed using the Van Allen Probes wave measurements, and is found to be generally consistent with the wave distribution obtained from previous spacecraft missions. Outside the plasmapause the statistical frequency distribution of magnetosonic waves follows the variation of the lower hybrid resonance frequency, but this trend is not observed inside the plasmasphere. Drift and bounce averaged electron diffusion rates due to magnetosonic waves are calculated using a recently developed analytical formula. The resulting time scale of electron energization during disturbed conditions (when AE* > 300 nT) is more than ten days. We perform a 2D simulation of the electron phase space density evolution due to magnetosonic wave scattering during disturbed conditions. Outside the plasmapause, the waves accelerate electrons with pitch angles between 50\textdegree and 70\textdegree, and form butterfly pitch angle distributions at energies from ~100 keV to a few MeV over a time scale of several days; whereas inside the plasmapause, the electron acceleration is very weak. Our study suggests that intense magnetosonic waves may cause the butterfly distribution of radiation belt electrons especially outside the plasmapause, but electron acceleration due to magnetosonic waves is generally not as effective as chorus wave acceleration. Ma, Qianli; Li, Wen; Thorne, Richard; Bortnik, Jacob; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 12/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2015JA021992 Electron scattering; magnetosonic waves; Van Allen Probes; Van Allen Probes statistics |
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Plasmaspheric hiss plays an important role in controlling the overall structure and dynamics of the Earth\textquoterights radiation belts. The interaction of plasmaspheric hiss with radiation belt electrons is commonly evaluated using diffusion codes, which rely on statistical models of wave observations that may not accurately reproduce the instantaneous global wave distribution, or the limited in-situ satellite wave measurements from satellites. This paper evaluates the performance and limitations of a novel technique capable of inferring wave amplitudes from low-altitude electron flux observations from the POES spacecraft, which provide extensive coverage in L-shell and MLT. We found that, within its limitations, this technique could potentially be used to build a dynamic global model of the plasmaspheric hiss wave intensity. The technique is validated by analyzing the conjunctions between the POES spacecraft and the Van Allen Probes from September 2012 to June 2014. The technique performs well for moderate-to-strong hiss activity (>=30 pT) with sufficiently high electron fluxes. The main source of these limitations is the number of counts of energetic electrons measured by the POES spacecraft capable of resonating with hiss waves. For moderate-to-strong hiss events, the results show that the wave amplitudes from the EMFISIS instruments onboard the Van Allen Probes are well reproduced by the POES technique, which provides more consistent estimates than the parameterized statistical hiss wave model based on CRRES data. de Soria-Santacruz, M.; Li, W.; Thorne, R.; Ma, Q.; Bortnik, J.; Ni, B.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 10/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2015JA021148 Plasmaspheric Hiss; Van Allen Probes; wave-particle interactions; Waves global model |
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Determining preferential solar wind conditions leading to efficient radiation belt electron acceleration is crucial for predicting radiation belt electron dynamics. Using Van Allen Probes electron observations (>1 MeV) from 2012 to 2015, we identify a number of efficient and inefficient acceleration events separately to perform a superposed epoch analysis of the corresponding solar wind parameters and geomagnetic indices. By directly comparing efficient and inefficient acceleration events, we clearly show that prolonged southward Bz, high solar wind speed, and low dynamic pressure are critical for electron acceleration to >1 MeV energies in the heart of the outer radiation belt. We also evaluate chorus wave evolution using the superposed epoch analysis for the identified efficient and inefficient acceleration events and find that chorus wave intensity is much stronger and lasts longer during efficient electron acceleration events, supporting the scenario that chorus waves play a key role in MeV electron acceleration. Li, W.; Thorne, R.; Bortnik, J.; Baker, D.; Reeves, G.; Kanekal, S.; Spence, H.; Green, J.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 09/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2015GL065342 Chorus wave; Electron acceleration; solar wind conditions; Van Allen Probes |
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Source and Seed Populations for Relativistic Electrons: Their Roles in Radiation Belt Changes Strong enhancements of outer Van Allen belt electrons have been shown to have a clear dependence on solar wind speed and on the duration of southward interplanetary magnetic field. However, individual case study analyses also have demonstrated that many geomagnetic storms produce little in the way of outer belt enhancements and, in fact, may produce substantial losses of relativistic electrons. In this study, focused upon a key period in August-September 2014, we use GOES geostationary orbit electron flux data and Van Allen Probes particle and fields data to study the process of radiation belt electron acceleration. One particular interval, 13-22 September, initiated by a short-lived geomagnetic storm and characterized by a long period of primarily northward IMF, showed strong depletion of relativistic electrons (including an unprecedented observation of long-lasting depletion at geostationary orbit) while an immediately preceding, and another immediately subsequent, storm showed strong radiation belt enhancement. We demonstrate with these data that two distinct electron populations resulting from magnetospheric substorm activity are crucial elements in the ultimate acceleration of highly relativistic electrons in the outer belt: the source population (tens of keV) that give rise to VLF wave growth; and the seed population (hundreds of keV) that are, in turn, accelerated through VLF wave interactions to much higher energies. ULF waves may also play a role by either inhibiting or enhancing this process through radial diffusion effects. If any components of the inner magnetospheric accelerator happen to be absent, the relativistic radiation belt enhancement fails to materialize. Jaynes, A.N.; Baker, D.N.; Singer, H.J.; Rodriguez, J.V.; Loto\textquoterightaniu, T.M.; Ali, A.; Elkington, S.R.; Li, X.; Kanekal, S.G.; Fennell, J.F.; Li, W.; Thorne, R.M.; Kletzing, C.A.; Spence, H.E.; Reeves, G.D.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 07/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2015JA021234 Radiation belts; relativistic electrons; substorms; ULF waves; Van Allen Probes; VLF waves |
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Nonlinear Bounce Resonances between Magnetosonic Waves and Equatorially Mirroring Electrons Equatorially mirroring energetic electrons pose an interesting scientific problem, since they generally cannot resonate with any known plasma waves and hence cannot be scattered down to lower pitch angles. Observationally it is well known that the fluxof these equatorial particles does not simply continue to build up indefinitely, and so a mechanism must necessarily exist that transports these particles from a equatorial pitch angle of 90 degrees down to lower values. However this mechanism has not been uniquely identified yet. Here, we investigate the mechanism of bounce resonance with equatorial noise (or fast magnetosonic waves). A test particle simulation is used to examine the effects of monochromatic magnetosonic waves on the equatorially mirroring energetic electrons, with a special interest in characterizing the effectiveness of bounce resonances. Our analysis shows that bounce resonances can occur at the first three harmonics of the bounce frequency (nωb, n = 1 , 2, and 3 ) and can effectively reduce the equatorial pitch angle to values where resonant scattering by whistler-mode waves becomes possible. We demonstrate that the nature of bounce resonance is nonlinear and we propose a nonlinear oscillation model for characterizing bounce resonances using two key parameters, effective wave amplitude \~A and normalized wave number inline image. The threshold for higher harmonic resonance is more strict, favoring higher \~A and inline image and the change in equatorial pitch angle is strongly controlled by inline image. We also investigate the dependence of bounce resonance effects on various physical parameters, including wave amplitude, frequency, wave normal angle and initial phase, plasmadensity, and electron energy. It is found that the effect of bounce resonance is sensitive to the wave normal angle. We suggest that the bounce resonant interaction might lead to an observed pitch angle distribution with a minimum at 90o. Chen, Lunjin; Maldonado, Armando; Bortnik, Jacob; Thorne, Richard; Li, Jinxing; Dai, Lei; Zhan, Xiaoya; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 06/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2015JA021174 bounce resonance; equatorioal noise; magnetosonic waves; nonlinear; Radiation belt; wave particle interaction |
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Plasmaspheric hiss is known to play an important role in controlling the overall structure and dynamics of radiation belt electrons inside the plasmasphere. Using newly available Van Allen Probes wave data, which provide excellent coverage in the entire inner magnetosphere, we evaluate the global distribution of the hiss wave frequency spectrum and wave intensity for different levels of substorm activity. Our statistical results show that observed hiss peak frequencies are generally lower than the commonly adopted value (~550 Hz), which was in frequent use, and that the hiss wave power frequently extends below 100 Hz, particularly at larger L shells (> ~3) on the dayside during enhanced levels of substorm activity. We also compare electron pitch angle scattering rates caused by hiss using the new statistical frequency spectrum and the previously adopted Gaussian spectrum and find that the differences are up to a factor of ~5 and are dependent on energy and L shell. Moreover, the new statistical hiss wave frequency spectrum including wave power below 100 Hz leads to increased pitch angle scattering rates by a factor of ~1.5 for electrons above ~100 keV at L~5, although their effect is negligible at L <= 3. Consequently, we suggest that the new realistic hiss wave frequency spectrum should be incorporated into future modeling of radiation belt electron dynamics. Li, W.; Ma, Q.; Thorne, R.; Bortnik, J.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Nishimura, Y.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 05/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2015JA021048 hiss diffusion coefficient; hiss frequency spectrum; Plasmaspheric Hiss; Van Allen Probes |
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Fifteen months of pitch angle resolved Van Allen Probes REPT measurements of differential electron flux are analyzed to investigate the characteristic variability of the pitch angle distribution (PAD) of radiation belt ultra-relativistic (>2 MeV) electrons during storm conditions and during the long-term post-storm decay. By modeling the ultra-relativistic electron pitch angle distribution as sinn α, where α is the equatorial pitch angle, we examine the spatio-temporal variations of the n-value. The results show that in general n-values increase with the level of geomagnetic activity. In principle, ultra-relativistic electrons respond to geomagnetic storms by becoming more peaked at 90\textdegree pitch angle with n-values of 2\textendash3 as a supportive signature of chorus acceleration outside the plasmasphere. High n-values also exist inside the plasmasphere, being localized adjacent to the plasmapause and exhibiting energy dependence, which suggests a significant contribution from EMIC waves scattering. During quiet periods, n-values generally evolve to become small, i.e., 0\textendash1. The slow and long-term decays of the ultra-relativistic electrons after geomagnetic storms, while prominent, produce energy and L-shell dependent decay timescales in association with the solar and geomagnetic activity and wave-particle interaction processes. At lower L shells inside the plasmasphere, the decay timescales τd for electrons at REPT energies are generally larger, varying from tens of days to hundreds of days, which can be mainly attributed to the combined effect of hiss induced pitch angle scattering and inward radial diffusion. As L shell increases to L ~ 3.5, a narrow region exists (with a width of ~0.5 L) where the observed ultra-relativistic electrons decay fastest, possibly resulting from efficient EMIC wave scattering. As L shell continues to increase, τd generally becomes larger again, indicating an overall slower loss process by waves at high L shells. Our investigation based upon the sinn α function fitting and the estimate of decay timescale offers a convenient and useful means to evaluate the underlying physical processes that play a role in driving the acceleration and loss of ultra-relativistic electrons and to assess their relative contributions. Ni, Binbin; Zou, Zhengyang; Gu, Xudong; Zhou, Chen; Thorne, Richard; Bortnik, Jacob; Shi, Run; Zhao, Zhengyu; Baker, Daniel; Kanekal, Shrikhanth; Spence, Harlan; Reeves, Geoffrey; Li, Xinlin; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 05/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2015JA021065 adiation belt ultra-relativistic electrons; decay timescales; Geomagnetic storms; Pitch angle distribution; resonant wave-particle interactions; Van Allen Probes |
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A novel technique capable of inferring wave amplitudes from low-altitude electron measurements from the POES spacecraft has been previously proposed to construct a global dynamic model of chorus and plasmaspheric hiss waves. In this paper we focus on plasmaspheric hiss, which is an incoherent broadband emission that plays a dominant role in the loss of energetic electrons from the inner magnetosphere. We analyze the sensitivity of the POES technique to different inputs used to infer the hiss wave amplitudes during three conjunction events with the Van Allen Probes. These amplitudes are calculated with different input models of the plasma density, wave frequency spectrum, and electron energy spectrum, and the results are compared to the wave observations from the twin Van Allen Probes. Only one parameter is varied at a time in order to isolate its effect on the output, while the two other inputs are set to the values observed by the Van Allen Probes. The results show that the predicted hiss amplitudes are most sensitive to the adopted frequency spectrum, followed by the plasma density, but they are not very sensitive to the electron energy spectrum. Moreover, the standard Gaussian representation of the wave frequency spectrum (centered at 550 Hz) peaks at frequencies that are much higher than those observed in individual cases as well as in statistical wave distributions, which produces large overestimates of the hiss wave amplitude. For this reason, a realistic statistical model of the wave frequency spectrum should be used in the POES technique to infer the plasmaspheric hiss wave intensity rather than a standard Gaussian distribution, since the former better reproduces the observed plasmaspheric hiss wave amplitudes. de Soria-Santacruz, M.; Li, W.; Thorne, R.; Ma, Q.; Bortnik, J.; Ni, B.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Spence, H.; Reeves, G.D.; Blake, J.; Fennell, J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 04/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020941 Plasmaspheric Hiss; POES technique; Van Allen Probes; Waves global model |
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A new 3D diffusion code is used to investigate the inward intrusion and slow decay of energetic radiation belt electrons (>0.5 MeV) observed by the Van Allen Probes during a 10-day quiet period in March 2013. During the inward transport the peak differential electron fluxes decreased by approximately an order of magnitude at various energies. Our 3D radiation belt simulation including radial diffusion and pitch angle and energy diffusion by plasmaspheric hiss and Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves reproduces the essential features of the observed electron flux evolution. The decay timescales and the pitch angle distributions in our simulation are consistent with the Van Allen Probes observations over multiple energy channels. Our study suggests that the quiet-time energetic electron dynamics are effectively controlled by inward radial diffusion and pitch angle scattering due to a combination of plasmaspheric hiss and EMIC waves in the Earth\textquoterights radiation belts. Ma, Q.; Li, W.; Thorne, R.; Ni, B.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Reeves, G.; Henderson, M.; Spence, H.; Baker, D.; Blake, J.; Fennell, J.; Claudepierre, S.; Angelopoulos, V.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 02/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2014GL062977 pitch angle scattering; radiation belts modeling; Van Allen Probes; Van Allen Probes observations |
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Recent ray tracing suggests that plasmaspheric hiss can originate from chorus observed outside of the plasmapause. Although a few individual events have been reported to support this mechanism, the number of reported conjugate events is still very limited. Using coordinated observations between THEMIS and Van Allen Probes, we report on an interesting event, where chorus was observed at a large L-shell (~9.8), different from previously reported events at L < 6, but still exhibited a remarkable correlation with hiss observed in the outer plasmasphere (L ~ 5.5). Ray tracing indicates that a subset of chorus can propagate into the observed location of hiss on a timescale of ~ 5-6 s, in excellent agreement with the observed time lag between chorus and hiss. This provides quantitative support that chorus from large L-shells, where it was previously considered unable to propagate into the plasmasphere, can in fact be the source of hiss. Li, W.; Chen, L.; Bortnik, J.; Thorne, R.; Angelopoulos, V.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 01/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2014GL062832 |
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An impenetrable barrier to ultrarelativistic electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts Early observations1, 2 indicated that the Earth\textquoterights Van Allen radiation belts could be separated into an inner zone dominated by high-energy protons and an outer zone dominated by high-energy electrons. Subsequent studies3, 4 showed that electrons of moderate energy (less than about one megaelectronvolt) often populate both zones, with a deep \textquoteleftslot\textquoteright region largely devoid of particles between them. There is a region of dense cold plasma around the Earth known as the plasmasphere, the outer boundary of which is called the plasmapause. The two-belt radiation structure was explained as arising from strong electron interactions with plasmaspheric hiss just inside the plasmapause boundary5, with the inner edge of the outer radiation zone corresponding to the minimum plasmapause location6. Recent observations have revealed unexpected radiation belt morphology7, 8, especially at ultrarelativistic kinetic energies9, 10 (more than five megaelectronvolts). Here we analyse an extended data set that reveals an exceedingly sharp inner boundary for the ultrarelativistic electrons. Additional, concurrently measured data11 reveal that this barrier to inward electron radial transport does not arise because of a physical boundary within the Earth\textquoterights intrinsic magnetic field, and that inward radial diffusion is unlikely to be inhibited by scattering by electromagnetic transmitter wave fields. Rather, we suggest that exceptionally slow natural inward radial diffusion combined with weak, but persistent, wave\textendashparticle pitch angle scattering deep inside the Earth\textquoterights plasmasphere can combine to create an almost impenetrable barrier through which the most energetic Van Allen belt electrons cannot migrate. Baker, D.; Jaynes, A.; Hoxie, V.; Thorne, R.; Foster, J.; Li, X.; Fennell, J.; Wygant, J.; Kanekal, S.; Erickson, P.; Kurth, W.; Li, W.; Ma, Q.; Schiller, Q.; Blum, L.; Malaspina, D.; Gerrard, A.; Lanzerotti, L.; Published by: Nature Published on: 11/2014 YEAR: 2014 DOI: 10.1038/nature13956 Magnetospheric physics; ultrarelativistic electrons; Van Allen Belts; Van Allen Probes |
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The bandwidths and coherence coefficients of lower band whistler mode waves are analyzed using Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) waveform data for rising tones, falling tones, and hiss-like emissions separately. We also evaluate their dependences on the spatial location, electron density, the ratio of plasma frequency to local electron gyrofrequency (fpe/fce), and the wave amplitude. Our results show that the bandwidth normalized by the local electron gyrofrequency (fce) of rising and falling tones is very narrow (~0.01 fce), smaller than that of the hiss-like emissions (~0.025 fce). Meanwhile, the normalized bandwidth of discrete emissions gradually decreases with increasing wave amplitude, whereas that of hiss-like emissions increases slowly. The coherence coefficient of rising and falling tones is extremely large (~1), while the coherence coefficient of hiss-like emissions is smaller but is still larger than 0.5. For all categories of whistler mode waves, the normalized bandwidth increases at larger L shells. Furthermore, the normalized bandwidth is positively correlated with local fpe/fce but is inversely correlated with the electron density. Interactions between radiation belt electrons and whistler mode waves have been widely described by quasi-linear diffusion theory. Our results suggest that although quasi-linear theory is not entirely applicable for modeling electron interactions with rising and falling tones due to their narrow bandwidth and high coherence coefficient, it is suitable to treat wave-particle interactions between electrons and low-amplitude hiss-like emissions. Moreover, the correlations between the normalized bandwidth of chorus waves (especially the discrete emissions) and other parameters may provide insights for the generation mechanism of chorus waves. Gao, X.; Li, W.; Thorne, R.; Bortnik, J.; Angelopoulos, V.; Lu, Q.; Tao, X.; Wang, S.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 11/2014 YEAR: 2014 DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020158 bandwidth; coherence coefficient; nonlinear; quasi-linear; THEMIS; whistler mode waves |
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The trapping of equatorial magnetosonic waves in the Earth\textquoterights outer plasmasphere We investigate the excitation and propagation of equatorial magnetosonic waves observed by the Van Allen Probes and describe evidence for a trapping mechanism for magnetosonic waves in the Earth\textquoterights plasmasphere. Intense equatorial magnetosonic waves were observed inside the plasmasphere in association with a pronounced proton ring distribution, which provides free energy for wave excitation. Instability analysis along the inbound orbit demonstrates that broadband magnetosonic waves can be excited over a localized spatial region near the plasmapause. The waves can subsequently propagate into the inner plasmasphere and remain trapped over a limited radial extent, consistent with the predictions of near-perpendicular propagation. By performing a similar analysis on another observed magnetosonic wave event, we demonstrate that magnetosonic waves can also be trapped within local density structures. We suggest that perpendicular wave propagation is important for explaining the presence of magnetosonic waves in the Earth\textquoterights plasmasphere at locations away from the generation region. Ma, Q.; Li, W.; Chen, L.; Thorne, R.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Reeves, G.; Henderson, M.; Spence, H.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 09/2014 YEAR: 2014 DOI: 10.1002/2014GL061414 magnetosonic waves; Van Allen Probes; wave excitation; wave propagation |
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Calculation of whistler-mode wave intensity using energetic electron precipitation The energetic electron population measured by multiple low-altitude POES satellites is used to infer whistlermode wave amplitudes using a physics-based inversion technique. We validate this technique by quantitatively analyzing a conjunction event between the Van Allen Probes and POES, and find that the inferred hiss wave amplitudes from POES electron measurements agree remarkably well with directly measured hiss waves amplitudes. We also use this technique to construct the global distribution of chorus wave intensity with extensive coverage over a broad L-MLT region during the 8\textendash9 October 2012 storm and demonstrate that the inferred chorus wave amplitudes agree well with conjugate measurements of chorus wave amplitudes from the Van Allen Probes. The evolution of the whistler-mode wave intensity inferred from low-altitude electron measurements can provide real-time global estimates of the wave intensity, which cannot be obtained from in-situ wave measurements by equatorial satellites alone, but are crucial in quantifying radiation belt electron dynamics. Li, W.; Ni, B.; Thorne, R.; Bortnik, J.; Green, J.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Published by: Published on: 08/2014 YEAR: 2014 DOI: 10.1109/URSIGASS.2014.6929965 Electron traps; Energy measurement; Plasma measurements; Van Allen Probes |
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Wave normal distributions of lower-band whistler-mode waves observed outside the plasmapause exhibit two peaks; one near the parallel direction and the other at very oblique angles. We analyze a number of conjunction events between the Van Allen Probes near the equatorial plane and POES satellites at conjugate low altitudes, where lower-band whistler-mode wave amplitudes were inferred from the two-directional POES electron measurements over 30\textendash100 keV, assuming that these waves were quasi-parallel. For conjunction events, the wave amplitudes inferred from the POES electron measurements were found to be overestimated as compared with the Van Allen Probes measurements primarily for oblique waves and quasi-parallel waves with small wave amplitudes (< ~20 pT) measured at low latitudes. This provides plausible experimental evidence of stronger pitch-angle scattering loss caused by oblique waves than by quasi-parallel waves with the same magnetic wave amplitudes, as predicted by numerical calculations. Li, W.; Mourenas, D.; Artemyev, A.; Agapitov, O.; Bortnik, J.; Albert, J.; Thorne, R.; Ni, B.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 08/2014 YEAR: 2014 DOI: 10.1002/2014GL061260 chorus waves; electron precipitation; oblique whistler; pitch angle scattering |
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