Bibliography





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Found 24 entries in the Bibliography.


Showing entries from 1 through 24


2021

Empirical loss timescales of slot region electrons due to plasmaspheric hiss based on Van Allen Probes observations

Abstract Based on Van Allen Probes observations, in this study we perform a statistical analysis of the spectral intensities of plasmaspheric hiss at L-shells of 1.8 – 3.0 in the slot region. Our results show that slot region hiss power intensifies with a strong day-night asymmetry as the level of substorm activity or L-shell increases. Using the statistical spectral profiles of plasmaspheric hiss, we calculate the drift- and bounce-averaged electron pitch angle diffusion coefficients and subsequently obtain the resultant electron loss timescales through 1-D Fokker-Planck simulations. We find that slot region electron loss timescales vary significantly from <1 day to several years, showing a strong dependence on electron energy, L-shell and substorm activity. We also construct an empirical model of slot region electron loss timescales due to scattering by plasmaspheric hiss, which agrees well with the 1-D simulation results and can be readily used in modeling the dynamics of slot region electrons. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Zhu, Qi; Cao, Xing; Gu, Xudong; Ni, Binbin; Xiang, Zheng; Fu, Song; Summers, Danny; Hua, Man; Lou, Yuequn; Ma, Xin; Guo, YingJie; Guo, DeYu; Zhang, Wenxun;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 04/2021

YEAR: 2021     DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA029057

Plasmaspheric Hiss; Slot region; Electron loss timescales; Van Allen Probes

Prediction of Dynamic Plasmapause Location Using a Neural Network

Abstract As a common boundary layer that distinctly separates the regions of high-density plasmasphere and low-density plasmatrough, the plasmapause is essential to comprehend the dynamics and variability of the inner magnetosphere. Using the machine learning framework Pytorch and high-quality Van Allen Probes data set, we develop a neural network model to predict the global dynamic variation of the plasmapause location, along with the identification of 6537 plasmapause crossing events during the period from 2012 to 2017. To avoid the overfitting and optimize the model generalization, 5493 events during the period from September 2012 to December 2015 are adopted for division into the training set and validation set in terms of the 10-fold cross validation method, and the remaining 1044 events are used as the test set. The model parameterized by only AE or Kp index can reproduce the plasmapause locations similar to those modeled using all five considered solar wind and geomagnetic parameters. Model evaluation on the test set indicate that our neural network model is capable of predicting the plasmapause location with the lowest RMSE. Our model can also produce a smooth MLT variation of the plasmapause location with good accuracy, which can be incorporated into global radiation belt simulations and space weather forecasts under a variety of geomagnetic conditions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Guo, DeYu; Fu, Song; Xiang, Zheng; Ni, Binbin; Guo, YingJie; Feng, Minghang; Guo, JianGuang; Hu, Zejun; Gu, Xudong; Zhu, Jianan; Cao, Xing; Wang, Qi;

Published by: Space Weather      Published on: 03/2021

YEAR: 2021     DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020SW002622

Plasmapause; neural network; Van Allen Probes; space weather forecast

2020

On the loss mechanisms of radiation belt electron dropouts during the 12 September 2014 geomagnetic storm

Radiation belt electron dropouts indicate electron flux decay to the background level during geomagnetic storms, which is commonly attributed to the effects of wave-induced pitch angle scattering and magnetopause shadowing. To investigate the loss mechanisms of radiation belt electron dropouts triggered by a solar wind dynamic pressure pulse event on 12 September 2014, we comprehensively analyzed the particle and wave measurements from Van Allen Probes. The dropout event was divided into three periods: before the storm, the initial phase of the storm, and the main phase of the storm. The electron pitch angle distributions (PADs) and electron flux dropouts during the initial and main phases of this storm were investigated, and the evolution of the radial profile of electron phase space density (PSD) and the (μ, K) dependence of electron PSD dropouts (where μ, K, and L* are the three adiabatic invariants) were analyzed. The energy-independent decay of electrons at L > 4.5 was accompanied by butterfly PADs, suggesting that the magnetopause shadowing process may be the major loss mechanism during the initial phase of the storm at L > 4.5. The features of electron dropouts and 90°-peaked PADs were observed only for >1 MeV electrons at L < 4, indicating that the wave-induced scattering effect may dominate the electron loss processes at the lower L-shell during the main phase of the storm. Evaluations of the (μ, K) dependence of electron PSD drops and calculations of the minimum electron resonant energies of H+-band electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves support the scenario that the observed PSD drop peaks around L* = 3.9 may be caused mainly by the scattering of EMIC waves, whereas the drop peaks around L* = 4.6 may result from a combination of EMIC wave scattering and outward radial diffusion.

Ma, Xin; Xiang, Zheng; Ni, Binbin; Fu, Song; Cao, Xing; Hua, Man; Guo, DeYu; Guo, YingJie; Gu, Xudong; Liu, ZeYuan; Zhu, Qi;

Published by: Earth and Planetary Physics      Published on: 11/2020

YEAR: 2020     DOI: https://doi.org/10.26464/epp2020060

radiation belt electron flux dropouts; Geomagnetic storm; electron phase space density; magnetopause shadowing; wave–particle interactions; Van Allen Probes

Electron-Driven Magnetic Dip Embedded Within the Proton-Driven Magnetic Dip and the Related Echoes of Butterfly Distribution of Relativistic Electrons

In this study, a magnetic dip event in which a small-scale magnetic dip is embedded within a large-scale magnetic dip is analyzed based on the observations of the Van Allen Probes. The small-scale dip is contributed by a sharp electron injection at the energy range of 1 to 10 keV, but the large-scale dip is contributed by a smooth proton injection at the energy range higher than 10 keV. The formation of dip caused by the suprathermal electrons is supported by the self-consistent magnetic model. Moreover, the echoes of butterfly distributions of relativistic electrons at the energy range of 0.5 to 3.4 MeV is observed. The time separations of the neighboring butterfly distributions are comparable to the drift periods of the electrons at the different energies. We suggest that the potential nonadiabatic processes in response to the magnetic dips possibly account for the butterfly distribution echoes.

Zhu, Hui; Chen, Lunjin; Xia, Zhiyang;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 07/2020

YEAR: 2020     DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL088983

magnetic dips; echoes of butterfly distributions; ring current-radiation belt coupling; Van Allen Probes

An empirical model of the global distribution of plasmaspheric hiss based on Van Allen Probes EMFISIS measurements

Using wave measurements from the EMFISIS instrument onboard Van Allen Probes, we investigate statistically the spatial distributions of the intensity of plasmaspheric hiss waves. To reproduce these empirical results, we establish a fitting model that is a third-order polynomial function of L-shell, magnetic local time (MLT), magnetic latitude (MLAT), and AE*. Quantitative comparisons indicate that the model s fitting functions can reflect favorably the major empirical features of the global distribution of hiss wave intensity, including substorm dependence and the MLT asymmetry. Our results therefore provide a useful analytic model that can be readily employed in future simulations of global radiation belt electron dynamics under the impact of plasmaspheric hiss waves in geospace.

Wang, JingZhi; Zhu, Qi; Gu, Xudong; Fu, Song; Guo, JianGuang; Zhang, Xiaoxin; Yi, Juan; Guo, YingJie; Ni, Binbin; Xiang, Zheng;

Published by: Earth and Planetary Physics      Published on: 06/2020

YEAR: 2020     DOI: https://doi.org/10.26464/epp2020034

hiss; Van Allen Probes; global model

Direct evidence of the pitch angle scattering of relativistic electrons induced by EMIC waves

In this study, we analyze an EMIC wave event of rising tone elements recorded by the Van Allen Probes. The pitch angle distributions of relativistic electrons exhibit a direct response to the two elements of EMIC waves: at the intermediate pitch angle the fluxes are lower and at the low pitch angle the fluxes are higher than those when no EMIC was observed. In particular, the observed changes in the pitch angle distributions are most likely to be caused by nonlinear wave particle interaction. The calculation of the minimum resonant energy and a test particle simulation based on the observed EMIC waves support the role of the nonlinear wave-particle interaction in the pitch angle scattering. This study provides direct evidence for the nonlinear pitch angle scattering of electrons by EMIC waves.

Zhu, Hui; Chen, Lunjin; Claudepierre, Seth; Zheng, Liheng;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 01/2020

YEAR: 2020     DOI: 10.1029/2019GL085637

EMIC waves; nonlinear wave-particle interaction; pitch angle scattering; Van Allen Probes

2019

On the Observation of Electrostatic Harmonics Associated With EMIC Waves

In this study, we report two events of electrostatic harmonics associated with electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves recorded by the Van Allen Probes. Based on the wave and plasma measurements, the wave features are investigated and the possible generation mechanism is discussed. The frequencies of these electrostatic emissions are at the integer and fractional frequencies of the fundamental EMIC waves, which can be across and above the local proton gyrofrequencies. When the frequencies increase, the electric power spectral densities of the electrostatic waves decrease, and their durations become shorter. Considering the bidirectional propagation of the fundamental EMIC waves, we propose that wave-wave resonance probably accounts for the generation of the observed electrostatic emissions. The calculation of cross bicoherence index supports this scenario. This study analyzes a type of electrostatic harmonic wave associated with EMIC waves, essentially different from the electromagnetic harmonics reported before, and provides new insight into the evolution of EMIC waves.

Zhu, Hui; Chen, Lunjin;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 12/2019

YEAR: 2019     DOI: 10.1029/2019GL085528

EMIC waves; Harmonics; Van Allen Probes

Statistical analysis on plasmatrough exohiss waves from the Van Allen Probes

In this study using Van Allen Probe wave observations we investigate the statistical properties of exohiss waves, which are structureless whistler mode waves observed outside the plasmapause. The exohiss waves are identified based on the cold electron number density, frequency distribution, ellipticity, and wave normal angle. The statistical analysis on exohiss wave properties shows that exohiss waves prefer to occur over 3

Zhu, Hui; Gu, Wenyao; Chen, Lunjin;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 06/2019

YEAR: 2019     DOI: 10.1029/2018JA026359

Exohiss; leaking process; Van Allen Probes

Triggered Plasmaspheric Hiss: Rising Tone Structures

In this study, a rare hiss event observed by Van Allen Probe is reported and the possible generation is investigated based on wave and plasma measurements. The results suggest that the normal hiss (from 0.05fce to 0.5fce) with dominantly equatorward Poynting fluxes is locally generated by plasma sheet electrons via cyclotron instability. The low-frequency band (from 30 Hz to 0.05fce) with a mixture of equatorward and poleward Poynting fluxes is probably due to multiple reflections inside the plasmasphere. Such difference in the two bands is confirmed by the calculation of minimum energy of resonant electrons and local growth rate. Moreover, the analysis on the fine structures of normal hiss waves shows that besides the expected incoherent structure (below 1 kHz), several rising tone elements are measured above 1 kHz. The rising tone structures are probably triggered by the incoherent hiss part below 1 kHz, which is rarely reported before.

Zhu, Hui; Liu, Xu; Chen, Lunjin;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 05/2019

YEAR: 2019     DOI: 10.1029/2019GL082688

Plasmaspheric Hiss; Radiation belts; Rising tone structure; Van Allen Probes

Modulation of Locally Generated Equatorial Noise by ULF Wave

In this paper we report a rare and fortunate event of fast magnetosonic (MS, also called equatorial noise) waves modulated by compressional ultralow frequency (ULF) waves measured by Van Allen Probes. The characteristics of MS waves, ULF waves, proton distribution, and their potential correlations are analyzed. The results show that ULF waves can modulate the energetic ring proton distribution and in turn modulate the MS generation. Furthermore, the variation of MS intensities is attributed to not only ULF wave activities but also the variation of background parameters, for example, number density. The results confirm the opinion that MS waves are generated by proton ring distribution and propose a new modulation phenomenon.

Zhu, Hui; Chen, Lunjin; Liu, Xu; Shprits, Yuri;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 04/2019

YEAR: 2019     DOI: 10.1029/2018JA026199

linear growth rate; magnetosonic waves; Radiation belts; ULF waves; Van Allen Probes

Local Generation of High-Frequency Plasmaspheric Hiss Observed by Van Allen Probes

The generation of a high-frequency plasmaspheric hiss (HFPH) wave observed by Van Allen Probes is studied in this letter for the first time. The wave has a moderate power spectral density (\~10-6 nT2/Hz), with a frequency range extended from 2 to 10 kHz. The correlated observations of waves and particles indicate that HFPH is associated with the enhancement of electron flux during the substorm on 6 January 2014. Calculations of the wave linear growth rate driven by the fitted electron phase space density show that the electron distribution after the substorm onset is efficient for the HFPH generation. The energy of the contributing electrons is about 1\textendash2 keV, which is consistent with the observation. These results support that the observed HFPH is likely to be generated locally inside the plasmasphere due to the instability of injected kiloelectron volt electrons.

He, Zhaoguo; Chen, Lunjin; Liu, Xu; Zhu, Hui; Liu, Si; Gao, Zhonglei; Cao, Yong;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 01/2019

YEAR: 2019     DOI: 10.1029/2018GL081578

electron; high frequency; local generation; Plasmaspheric Hiss; substorm injection; Van Allen Probes

2018

An event on simultaneous amplification of exohiss and chorus waves associated with electron density enhancements

Whistler mode exohiss are the structureless hiss waves observed outside the plasmapause with featured equatorward Poynting flux. An event of the amplification of exohiss as well as chorus waves was recorded by Van Allen Probes during the recovery phase of a weak geomagnetic storm. Amplitudes of both types of the waves showed a significant increase at the regions of electron density enhancements. It is found that the electrons resonant with exohiss and chorus showed moderate pitch-angle anisotropies. The ratio of the number of electrons resonating with exohiss to total electron number presented in-phase correlation with density variations, which suggests that exohiss can be amplified due to electron density enhancement in terms of cyclotron instability. The calculation of linear growth rates further supports above conclusion. We suggest that exohiss waves have potential to become more significant due to the background plasma fluctuation.

Zhu, Hui; Shprits, Yuri; Chen, Lunjin; Liu, Xu; Kellerman, Adam;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 10/2018

YEAR: 2018     DOI: 10.1029/2017JA025023

electromagnetic waves; Exohiss; linear theory; Radiation belts; Van Allen Probes

2017

Multiple-satellite observation of magnetic dip event during the substorm on 10 October, 2013

We present a multiple-satellite observation of the magnetic dip event during the substorm on October 10, 2013. The observation illustrates the temporal and spatial evolution of the magnetic dip and gives a compelling evidence that ring current ions induce the magnetic dip by enhanced plasma beta. The dip moves with the energetic ions in a comparable drift velocity and affects the dynamics of relativistic electrons in the radiation belt. In addition, the magnetic dip provides a favorable condition for the EMIC wave generation based on the linear theory analysis. The calculated proton diffusion coefficients show that the observed EMIC wave can lead to the pitch angle scattering losses of the ring current ions, which in turn partially relax the magnetic dip in the observations. This study enriches our understanding of magnetic dip evolution and demonstrates the important role of the magnetic dip for the coupling of radiation belt and ring current.

He, Zhaoguo; Chen, Lunjin; Zhu, Hui; Xia, Zhiyang; Reeves, G.; Xiong, Ying; Xie, Lun; Cao, Yong;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 09/2017

YEAR: 2017     DOI: 10.1002/2017GL074869

EMIC wave; magnetic dip; radiation belt electrons; Ring current ions; Van Allen Probes

EMIC wave parameterization in the long-term VERB code simulation

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves play an important role in the dynamics of ultrarelativistic electron population in the radiation belts. However, as EMIC waves are very sporadic, developing a parameterization of such wave properties is a challenging task. Currently, there are no dynamic, activity-dependent models of EMIC waves that can be used in the long-term (several months) simulations, which makes the quantitative modeling of the radiation belt dynamics incomplete. In this study, we investigate Kp, Dst, and AE indices, solar wind speed, and dynamic pressure as possible parameters of EMIC wave presence. The EMIC waves are included in the long-term simulations (1 year, including different geomagnetic activity) performed with the Versatile Electron Radiation Belt code, and we compare results of the simulation with the Van Allen Probes observations. The comparison shows that modeling with EMIC waves, parameterized by solar wind dynamic pressure, provides a better agreement with the observations among considered parameterizations. The simulation with EMIC waves improves the dynamics of ultrarelativistic fluxes and reproduces the formation of the local minimum in the phase space density profiles.

Drozdov, A; Shprits, Y; Usanova, M.; Aseev, N.; Kellerman, A.; Zhu, H.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 08/2017

YEAR: 2017     DOI: 10.1002/2017JA024389

EMIC; Radiation belts; Van Allen Probes; VERB code

2016

Nonstorm time dropout of radiation belt electron fluxes on 24 September 2013

Radiation belt electron flux dropouts during the main phase of geomagnetic storms have received increasing attention in recent years. Here we focus on a rarely reported nonstorm time dropout event observed by Van Allen Probes on 24 September 2013. Within several hours, the radiation belt electron fluxes exhibited a significant (up to 2 orders of magnitude) depletion over a wide range of radial distances (L > 4.5), energies (\~500 keV to several MeV) and equatorial pitch angles (0\textdegree<=αe<=180\textdegree). STEERB simulations show that the relativistic electron loss in the region L = 4.5\textendash6.0 was primarily caused by the pitch angle scattering of observed plasmaspheric hiss and electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves. Our results emphasize the complexity of radiation belt dynamics and the importance of wave-driven precipitation loss even during nonstorm times.

Su, Zhenpeng; Gao, Zhonglei; Zhu, Hui; Li, Wen; Zheng, Huinan; Wang, Yuming; Wang, Shui; Spence, H.; Reeves, G.; Baker, D.; Blake, J.; Funsten, H.; Wygant, J.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 07/2016

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1002/2016JA022546

EMIC; numerical modeling; Plasmaspheric Hiss; precipitation loss; radiation belt dropout; Van Allen Probes; Wave-particle interaction

Intense low-frequency chorus waves observed by Van Allen Probes: Fine structures and potential effect on radiation belt electrons

Frequency distribution is a vital factor in determining the contribution of whistler-mode chorus to radiation belt electron dynamics. Chorus is usually considered to occur in the frequency range 0.1\textendash0.8 inline image (with the equatorial electron gyrofrequency inline image). We here report an event of intense low-frequency chorus with nearly half of wave power distributed below 0.1 inline image observed by Van Allen Probe A on 27 August 2014. This emission propagated quasi-parallel to the magnetic field and exhibited hiss-like signatures most of the time. The low-frequency chorus can produce the rapid loss of low-energy (\~0.1 MeV) electrons, different from the normal chorus. For high-energy (>=0.5 MeV) electrons, the low-frequency chorus can yield comparable momentum diffusion to that of the normal chorus, but much stronger (up to 2 orders of magnitude) pitch-angle diffusion near the loss cone.

Gao, Zhonglei; Su, Zhenpeng; Zhu, Hui; Xiao, Fuliang; Zheng, Huinan; Wang, Yuming; Shen, Chao; Wang, Shui;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 02/2016

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1002/2016GL067687

Cyclotron resonance; Hiss-like band; Low-frequency chorus; Radiation belt; Van Allen Probes; Rising tones; Van Allen Probes

2015

Ultra-low-frequency wave-driven diffusion of radiation belt relativistic electrons

Van Allen radiation belts are typically two zones of energetic particles encircling the Earth separated by the slot region. How the outer radiation belt electrons are accelerated to relativistic energies remains an unanswered question. Recent studies have presented compelling evidence for the local acceleration by very-low-frequency (VLF) chorus waves. However, there has been a competing theory to the local acceleration, radial diffusion by ultra-low-frequency (ULF) waves, whose importance has not yet been determined definitively. Here we report a unique radiation belt event with intense ULF waves but no detectable VLF chorus waves. Our results demonstrate that the ULF waves moved the inner edge of the outer radiation belt earthward 0.3 Earth radii and enhanced the relativistic electron fluxes by up to one order of magnitude near the slot region within about 10 h, providing strong evidence for the radial diffusion of radiation belt relativistic electrons.

Su, Zhenpeng; Zhu, Hui; Xiao, Fuliang; Zong, Q.-G.; Zhou, X.-Z.; Zheng, Huinan; Wang, Yuming; Wang, Shui; Hao, Y.-X.; Gao, Zhonglei; He, Zhaoguo; Baker, D.; Spence, H.; Reeves, G.; Blake, J.; Wygant, J.;

Published by: Nature Communications      Published on: 12/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10096

Van Allen Probes

Disappearance of plasmaspheric hiss following interplanetary shock

Plasmaspheric hiss is one of the important plasma waves controlling radiation belt dynamics. Its spatiotemporal distribution and generation mechanism are presently the object of active research. We here give the first report on the shock-induced disappearance of plasmaspheric hiss observed by the Van Allen Probes on 8 October 2013. This special event exhibits the dramatic variability of plasmaspheric hiss and provides a good opportunity to test its generation mechanisms. The origination of plasmaspheric hiss from plasmatrough chorus is suggested to be an appropriate prerequisite to explain this event. The shock increased the suprathermal electron fluxes, and then the enhanced Landau damping promptly prevented chorus waves from entering the plasmasphere. Subsequently, the shrinking magnetopause removed the source electrons for chorus, contributing significantly to the several-hours-long disappearance of plasmaspheric hiss.

Su, Zhenpeng; Zhu, Hui; Xiao, Fuliang; Zheng, Huinan; Wang, Yuming; Shen, Chao; Zhang, Min; Wang, Shui; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Spence, H.; Reeves, G.; Funsten, H.; Blake, J.; Baker, D.; Wygant, J.;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 03/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1002/2015GL063906

Cyclotron instability; Cyclotron resonance; interplanetary shock; Landau damping; Plasmaspheric Hiss; Radiation belt; Van Allen Probes

Plasmatrough exohiss waves observed by Van Allen Probes: Evidence for leakage from plasmasphere and resonant scattering of radiation belt electrons

Exohiss waves are whistler mode hiss observed in the plasmatrough region. We present a case study of exohiss waves and the corresponding background plasma distributions observed by the Van Allen Probes in the dayside low-latitude region. The analysis of wave Poynting fluxes, suprathermal electron fluxes and cold electron densities supports the scenario that exohiss leaks from the plasmasphere into the plasmatrough. Quasilinear calculations further reveal that exohiss can potentially cause the resonant scattering loss of radiation belt electrons ~

Zhu, Hui; Su, Zhenpeng; Xiao, Fuliang; Zheng, Huinan; Wang, Yuming; Shen, Chao; Xian, Tao; Wang, Shui; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Spence, H.; Reeves, G.; Funsten, H.; Blake, J.; Baker, D.;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 02/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1002/2014GL062964

Cyclotron resonance; Exohiss; Landau damping; Plasmaspheric Hiss; Radiation belt electron loss; Van Allen Probes

2014

Quantifying the relative contributions of substorm injections and chorus waves to the rapid outward extension of electron radiation belt

We study the rapid outward extension of the electron radiation belt on a timescale of several hours during three events observed by RBSP and THEMIS satellites, and particularly quantify the contributions of substorm injections and chorus waves to the electron flux enhancement near the outer boundary of radiation belt. A comprehensive analysis including both observations and simulations is performed for the first event on 26 May 2013. The outer boundary of electron radiation belt moved from L = 5.5 to L > 6.07 over about 6 hours, with up to four orders of magnitude enhancement in the 30 keV-5 MeV electron fluxes at L = 6. The observations show that the substorm injection can cause 100\% and 20\% of the total subrelativistic (~0.1 MeV) and relativistic (2-5 MeV) electron flux enhancements within a few minutes. The data-driven simulation supports that the strong chorus waves can yield 60\%-80\% of the total energetic (0.2-5.0 MeV) electron flux enhancement within about 6 hours. Some simple analyses are further given for the other two events on 2 and 29 June 2013, in which the contributions of substorm injections and chorus waves are shown to be qualitatively comparable to those for the first event. These results clearly illustrate the respective importance of substorm injections and chorus waves for the evolution of radiation belt electrons at different energies on a relatively short timescale.

Su, Zhenpeng; Zhu, Hui; Xiao, Fuliang; Zheng, Huinan; Wang, Yuming; Zong, Q.-G.; He, Zhaoguo; Shen, Chao; Zhang, Min; Wang, Shui; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Spence, H.; Reeves, G.; Funsten, H.; Blake, J.; Baker, D.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 12/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020709

Chorus wave; Electron acceleration; Radiation belt; substorm injection; Van Allen Probes; Wave-particle interaction

An unusual long-lived relativistic electron enhancement event excited by sequential CMEs

An unusual long-lived intense relativistic electron enhancement event from July to August 2004 is examined using data from Fengyun-1, POES, GOES, ACE, the Cluster Mission and geomagnetic indices. During the initial 6 days of this event, the observed fluxes in the outer zone enhanced continuously and their maximum increased from 2.1 \texttimes 102 cm-2\textperiodcenteredsr-1\textperiodcentereds-1 to 3.5 \texttimes 104 cm-2\textperiodcenteredsr-1\textperiodcentereds-1, the region of enhanced fluxes extended from L = 3.5-6.5 to L = 2.5-6.5, and the flux peak location shifted inward from L ~ 4.2 to L ~ 3.3. During the following 7 days, without any locational movement, the flux peak increased slowly and exceeded the pre-storm fluxes by about 4 orders of magnitude. Subsequently, the decay rate of relativistic electrons is so slow that the peak remains over 104 cm-2\textperiodcenteredsr-1\textperiodcentereds-1 for about 30 days. The drift-resonance between ULF waves, which arose from high-speed solar wind and frequent impulses of solar wind dynamic pressure, and energetic electrons injected by substorms could be an important acceleration mechanism in this event. The local acceleration by whistler mode chorus could be another mechanism contributing to this enhancement. The plasmaspheric response to the interplanetary disturbances reveals that the enhanced outer zone is divided into two portions by the plasmapause. Accordingly, the slow loss rate in the plasmasphere due to hiss primarily contributed to the long-lived characteristic of this event. This event reveals that the outer zone population behaviors are dominated by the interplanetary variations together with the responses of geomagnetic field and plasmasphere to these variations.

Yang, Xiao; Zhu, Guang; Zhang, Xiao; Sun, Yue; Liang, Jin; Wei, Xin;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 10/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/2014JA019797

Geomagnetic storm/substorm; Interplanetary magnetic field; Plasmapause; Relativistic electron; Solar wind

Chorus-driven acceleration of radiation belt electrons in the unusual temporal/spatial regions

Cyclotron resonance with whistler-mode chorus waves is an important mechanism for the local acceleration of radiation belt energetic electrons. Such acceleration process has been widely investigated during the storm times, and its favored region is usually considered to be the low-density plasmatrough with magnetic local time (MLT) from midnight through dawn to noon. Here we present two case studies on the chorus-driven acceleration of radiation belt electrons in some \textquotedblleftunusual\textquotedblright temporal /spatial regions. (1) The first event recorded by the Van Allen Probes during the nonstorm times from 21 to 23 February 2013. Within two days, a new radiation belt centering around L=5.8 formed and gradually merged with the original outer belt. The corresponding relativistic electron fluxes increased by a factor of up to 50, accompanied by strong chorus waves. The quasi-linear STEERB model, including the local acceleration of detected chorus waves, can basically reproduce the observed 0.2\textendash5.0 MeV electron flux enhancement at the center of new belt. These results clearly illustrate the importance of chorus-driven local acceleration during the nonstorm times. (2) The second event observed by the Van Allen Probes in the duskside (MLT\~18) region on 2 October 2013. The quasi-linear diffusion analysis of STEERB code shows that, even in the duskside region with large ratio between the electron plasma frequency and the electron gyrofrequency, the detected intense (\~0.5 nT) chorus waves can still effectively accelerate radiation belt electrons. These results clearly exhibit the broader effective acceleration regions than usually estimated, at least for this one example.

Su, Zhenpeng; Xiao, Fuliang; Zheng, Huinan; Zhu, Hui;

Published by:       Published on: 08/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1109/URSIGASS.2014.6929875

Acceleration; Van Allen Belts; Van Allen Probes

Intense duskside lower band chorus waves observed by Van Allen Probes: Generation and potential acceleration effect on radiation belt electrons

Local acceleration driven by whistler mode chorus waves largely accounts for the enhancement of radiation belt relativistic electron fluxes, whose favored region is usually considered to be the plasmatrough with magnetic local time approximately from midnight through dawn to noon. On 2 October 2013, the Van Allen Probes recorded a rarely reported event of intense duskside lower band chorus waves (with power spectral density up to 10-3nT2/Hz) in the low-latitude region outside of L=5. Such chorus waves are found to be generated by the substorm-injected anisotropic suprathermal electrons and have a potentially strong acceleration effect on the radiation belt energetic electrons. This event study demonstrates the possibility of broader spatial regions with effective electron acceleration by chorus waves than previously expected. For such intense duskside chorus waves, the occurrence probability, the preferential excitation conditions, the time duration, and the accurate contribution to the long-term evolution of radiation belt electron fluxes may need further investigations in future.

Su, Zhenpeng; Zhu, Hui; Xiao, Fuliang; Zheng, Huinan; Wang, Yuming; He, Zhaoguo; Shen, Chao; Shen, Chenglong; Wang, C.; Liu, Rui; Zhang, Min; Wang, Shui; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Spence, H.; Reeves, G.; Funsten, H.; Blake, J.; Baker, D.; Wygant, J.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 06/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/jgra.v119.610.1002/2014JA019919

Van Allen Probes

Nonstorm time dynamics of electron radiation belts observed by the Van Allen Probes

Storm time electron radiation belt dynamics have been widely investigated for many years. Here we present a rarely reported nonstorm time event of electron radiation belt evolution observed by the Van Allen Probes during 21\textendash24 February 2013. Within 2 days, a new belt centering around L=5.8 formed and gradually merged with the original outer belt, with the enhancement of relativistic electron fluxes by a factor of up to 50. Strong chorus waves (with power spectral density up to 10-4nT2/Hz) occurred in the region L>5. Taking into account the local acceleration driven by these chorus waves, the two-dimensional STEERB can approximately reproduce the observed energy spectrums at the center of the new belt. These results clearly illustrate the complexity of electron radiation belt behaviors and the importance of chorus-driven local acceleration even during the nonstorm times.

Su, Zhenpeng; Xiao, Fuliang; Zheng, Huinan; He, Zhaoguo; Zhu, Hui; Zhang, Min; Shen, Chao; Wang, Yuming; Wang, Shui; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Spence, H.; Reeves, G.; Funsten, H.; Blake, J.; Baker, D.;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 01/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/2013GL058912

Van Allen Probes



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