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Found 11 entries in the Bibliography.


Showing entries from 1 through 11


2021

Rapid injections of MeV electrons and extremely fast step-like outer radiation belt enhancements

Abstract Rapid injection of MeV electrons associated with strong substorm dipolarization has been suggested as a potential explanation for some radiation belt enhancement events. However, it has been difficult to quantify the contribution of MeV electron injections to radiation belt enhancements. This paper presents two isolated MeV electron injection events for which we quite precisely quantify how the entire outer-belt immediately changed with the injections. Tracking detailed outer-belt evolution observed by Van Allen Probes, for both events, we identify large step-like relativistic electron enhancements (roughly 1-order of magnitude increase for ∼2 MeV electron fluxes) for L ≳ 3.8 and L ≳ 4.6, respectively, that occurred on ∼30-min timescales nearly instantaneously with the injections. The enhancements occurred almost simultaneously for 10s keV to multi-MeV electrons, with the lowest-L of enhancement region located farther out for higher energy. The outer-belt stayed at these new levels for ≳ several hours without substantial subsequent enhancements.

Kim, H.-J.; Lee, D.-Y.; Wolf, R.; Bortnik, J.; Kim, K.-C.; Lyons, L.; Choe, W.; Noh, S.-J.; Choi, K.-E.; Yue, C.; Li, J.;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 05/2021

YEAR: 2021     DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093151

Radiation belt enhancement; Relatvistic electrons; substorm injection; Step-like; Extremely fast; Van Allen Probes

2020

On the Formation of Wedge-Like Ion Spectral Structures in the Nightside Inner Magnetosphere

Recent observations in the nightside inner magnetosphere have identified a series of wedge-like spectral structures in the energy-time spectrograms of oxygen, helium, and hydrogen ion fluxes. Although the shapes and distributions of these structures have been characterized by case and statistical studies, their formation mechanism remains unclear. Here we utilize a particle tracing model to reproduce the wedge-like structures successively observed by the twin Van Allen Probes. The model suggests that these structures originate from intermittent substorm injection, and it is the accessibility region of these injected ions that determines their shapes. This mechanism is similar to the formation of another kind of structures, the inner magnetospheric nose-like structures, except that the wedge-like structures are separated from the tail population by the discontinuation of ion injections. This scenario is also supported by the distribution statistics of wedge-like structures, which provides new insights into the dynamics of the magnetotail-inner magnetosphere coupled system.

Zhou, Xu-Zhi; Ren, Jie; Yang, Fan; Yue, Chao; Zong, Qiu-Gang; Fu, Sui-Yan; Wang, Yongfu;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 11/2020

YEAR: 2020     DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA028420

wedge-like structure; inner magnetosphere; substorm injection; magnetospheric convection; ring current; magnetotail; Van Allen Probes

Statistical Evidence for EMIC Wave Excitation Driven by Substorm Injection and Enhanced Solar Wind Pressure in the Earth s Magnetosphere: Two Different EMIC Wave Sources

Substorm injection and solar wind dynamic pressure have long been considered as two main drivers of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave excitation, but clear observational evidence is still lacking. With Van Allen Probes data from 2012–2017, we have investigated the roles of the two EMIC wave drivers separately, by using time-modified AE+ and . Both the occurrence rate and magnetic amplitude of waves significantly increase with the enhancement of each index. During large AE+, EMIC waves are mainly generated in the dusk sector (16 ≤ MLT ≤ 20) and near the magnetic equator (|MLAT| < 10°). This is presumably due to substorm-injected protons drifting from midnight sector to the plasmaspheric bulge. While during large , EMIC waves mainly occur in the noon sector (9 ≤ MLT ≤ 15). But there exist higher-latitude (10° < |MLAT| < 20°) source regions besides equatorial source, possibly due to the minimum B regions. Our results provide strong observational support to existing generation mechanisms of EMIC waves in the Earth s magnetosphere.

Chen, Huayue; Gao, Xinliang; Lu, Quanming; Tsurutani, Bruce; Wang, Shui;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 10/2020

YEAR: 2020     DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL090275

EMIC wave; wave excitation; source region; substorm injection; solar wind dynamic pressure; Earth s magnetosphere; Van Allen Probes

2019

Quenching of Equatorial Magnetosonic Waves by Substorm Proton Injections

Near equatorial (fast) magnetosonic waves, characterized by high magnetic compressibility, are whistler-mode emissions destabilized by proton shell/ring distributions. In the past, substorm proton injections are widely known to intensify magnetosonic waves in the inner magnetosphere. Here we report the unexpected observations by the Van Allen Probes of the magnetosonic wave quenching associated with the substorm proton injections under both high- and low-density conditions. The enhanced proton thermal pressure distorted the background magnetic field configuration and the cold plasma density distribution. The reduced phase velocities locally allowed the weak growth or even damping of magnetosonic waves. Meanwhile, the spatially irregularly varying refractive indices might suppress the cumulative growth of magnetosonic waves. For intense injections, this wave quenching region could extend over 2 hr in magnetic local time and 0.5 Earth radii in radial distance. These results provide a new understanding of the generation and distribution of magnetosonic waves.

Dai, Guyue; Su, Zhenpeng; Liu, Nigang; Wang, Bin; Zheng, Huinan; Wang, Yuming; Wang, Shui;

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

YEAR: 2019     DOI: 10.1029/2019GL082944

Bernstein mode instability; magnetosonic wave; Radiation belt; ring current; substorm injection; Van Allen Probes; Wave-particle interaction

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

The Radial Propagation Characteristics of the Injection Front: A Statistical Study Based on BD-IES and Van Allen Probes Observations

Electron flux measurements outside geosynchronous orbit (GSO) obtained by the BeiDa Imaging Electron Spectrometer instrument onboard a 55 degrees-inclined GSO satellite, and inside GSO obtained by the Van Allen Probes are analyzed to investigate the temporal and spatial evolutions of the substorm injection region. In one year data started from October 2015, 63 injection events are identified. Firstly, our study shows that the injection signatures can be detected in a large radial extent in one single event, for example, from L \~ 4.1 to L \~ 9.3. Secondly, injection onset times are derived from the energy dispersion of particle injection signatures of each satellite. The difference of the onset times among satellites reveals that the injection boundary, termed as \textquotedblleftinjection front\textquotedblright in this paper, can propagate both earthward and tailward with a speed varying from a few km/s to \~100 km/s. Thirdly, evolutions of the upper-cutoff magnetic moments (μuc) of injected electrons are analyzed, upon which the injection events are classified into two categories. In one category, the μuc observed by two radially separated satellites are equal taking into account the error caused by the finite width of energy channels, whereas in the other category, μuc at lower L shells are smaller than that at higher L shells.

Liu, Z; Zong, Q.-G.; Hao, Y.; Liu, Y.; Chen, X.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 02/2018

YEAR: 2018     DOI: 10.1002/2018JA025185

earthward propagation; radial propagation speed; substorm injection; tailward propagation; upper-cutoff magnetic moment; Van Allen Probes

2017

Shock-induced disappearance and subsequent recovery of plasmaspheric hiss: Coordinated observations of RBSP, THEMIS and POES satellites

Plasmaspheric hiss is an extremely low frequency whistler-mode emission contributing significantly to the loss of radiation belt electrons. There are two main competing mechanisms for the generation of plasmaspheric hiss: excitation by local instability in the outer plasmasphere and origination from chorus outside the plasmasphere. Here, on the basis of the analysis of an event of shock-induced disappearance and subsequent recovery of plasmaspheric hiss observed by RBSP, THEMIS and POES missions, we attempt to identify its dominant generation mechanism. In the pre-shock plasmasphere, the local electron instability was relatively weak and the hiss waves with bidirectional Poynting fluxes mainly originated from the dayside chorus waves. On arrival of the shock, the removal of pre-existing dayside chorus and the insignificant variation of low-frequency wave instability caused the prompt disappearance of hiss waves. In the next few hours, the local instability in the plasmasphere was greatly enhanced due to the substorm injection of hot electrons. The enhancement of local instability likely played a dominant role in the temporary recovery of hiss with unidirectional Poynting fluxes. These temporarily recovered hiss waves were generated near the equator and then propagated toward higher latitudes. In contrast, both the enhancement of local instability and the recurrence of pre-noon chorus contributed to the substantial recovery of hiss with bidirectional Poynting fluxes.

Liu, Nigang; Su, Zhenpeng; Gao, Zhonglei; Reeves, G.; Zheng, Huinan; Wang, Yuming; Wang, Shui;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 10/2017

YEAR: 2017     DOI: 10.1002/2017JA024470

Chorus; interplanetary shock; Plasmaspheric Hiss; Radiation belt; substorm injection; Van Allen Probes; Wave-particle interaction

Direct observation of generation and propagation of magnetosonic waves following substorm injection

Magnetosonic whistler mode waves play an important role in the radiation belt electron dynamics. Previous theory has suggested that these waves are excited by the ring distributions of hot protons and can propagate radially and azimuthally over a broad spatial range. However, because of the challenging requirements on satellite locations and data-processing techniques, this theory was difficult to validate directly. Here we present some experimental tests of the theory on the basis of Van Allen Probes observations of magnetosonic waves following substorm injections. At higher L-shells with significant substorm injections, the discrete magnetosonic emission lines started approximately at the proton gyrofrequency harmonics, qualitatively consistent with the prediction of linear proton Bernstein mode instability. In the frequency-time spectrograms, these emission lines exhibited a clear rising tone characteristic with a long duration of 15-25 mins, implying the additional contribution of other undiscovered mechanisms. Nearly at the same time, the magnetosonic waves arose at lower L-shells without substorm injections. The wave signals at two different locations, separated by ΔL up to 2.0 and by ΔMLT up to 4.2, displayed the consistent frequency-time structures, strongly supporting the hypothesis about the radial and azimuthal propagation of magnetosonic waves.

Su, Zhenpeng; Wang, Geng; Liu, Nigang; Zheng, Huinan; Wang, Yuming; Wang, Shui;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 07/2018

YEAR: 2017     DOI: 10.1002/2017GL074362

Bernstein mode instability; magnetosonic waves; Radiation belt; rising tone; substorm injection; Van Allen Probes; Wave-particle interaction

2015

Near-Earth Injection of MeV Electrons associated with Intense Dipolarization Electric Fields: Van Allen Probes observations

Substorms generally inject 10s-100s keV electrons, but intense substorm electric fields have been shown to inject MeV electrons as well. An intriguing question is whether such MeV electron injections can populate the outer radiation belt. Here we present observations of a substorm injection of MeV electrons into the inner magnetosphere. In the pre-midnight sector at L\~5.5, Van Allen Probes (RBSP)-A observed a large dipolarization electric field (50mV/m) over \~40s and a dispersionless injection of electrons up to \~3 MeV. Pitch angle observations indicated betatron acceleration of MeV electrons at the dipolarization front. Corresponding signals of MeV electron injection were observed at LANL-GEO, THEMIS-D, and GOES at geosynchronous altitude. Through a series of dipolarizations, the injections increased the MeV electron phase space density by one order of magnitude in less than 3 hours in the outer radiation belt (L>4.8). Our observations provide evidence that deep injections can supply significant MeV electrons.

Dai, Lei; Wang, Chi; Duan, Suping; He, Zhaohai; Wygant, John; Cattell, Cynthia; Tao, Xin; Su, Zhenpeng; Kletzing, Craig; Baker, Daniel; Li, Xinlin; Malaspina, David; Blake, Bernard; Fennell, Joseph; Claudepierre, Seth; Turner, Drew; Reeves, Geoffrey; Funsten, Herbert; Spence, Harlan; Angelopoulos, Vassilis; Fruehauff, Dennis; Chen, Lunjin; Thaller, Scott; Breneman, Aaron; Tang, Xiangwei;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 07/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1002/2015GL064955

electric fields; radiation belt electrons; substorm dipolarization; substorm injection; 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

Evidence for injection of relativistic electrons into the Earth\textquoterights outer radiation belt via intense substorm electric fields

Observation and model results accumulated in the last decade indicate that substorms can promptly inject relativistic \textquoteleftkiller\textquoteright electrons (>=MeV) in addition to 10\textendash100 keV subrelativistic populations. Using measurements from Cluster, Polar, LANL, and GOES satellites near the midnight sector, we show in two events that intense electric fields, as large as 20 mV/m, associated with substorm dipolarization are associated with injections of relativistic electrons into the outer radiation belt. Enhancements of hundreds of keV electrons at dipolarization in the magnetotail can account for the injected MeV electrons through earthward transport. These observations provide evidence that substorm electric fields inject relativistic electrons by transporting magnetotail electrons into the outer radiation belt. In these two events, injected relativistic electrons dominated the substorm timescale enhancement of MeV electrons as observed at geosynchronous orbit.

Dai, Lei; Wygant, John; Cattell, Cynthia; Thaller, Scott; Kersten, Kris; Breneman, Aaron; Tang, Xiangwei; Friedel, Reiner; Claudepierre, Seth; Tao, Xin;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 02/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/2014GL059228

radiation belt relativistic electrons; substorm dipolarization; substorm electric fields; substorm injection



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