Energetic Electron Precipitation Observed by FIREBIRD-II Potentially Driven by EMIC Waves: Location, Extent, and Energy Range from a Multi-Event Analysis

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Abstract
Abstract We evaluate the location, extent and energy range of electron precipitation driven by ElectroMagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves using coordinated multi-satellite observations from near-equatorial and Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) missions. Electron precipitation was analyzed using the Focused Investigations of Relativistic Electron Burst Intensity, Range and Dynamics (FIREBIRD-II) CubeSats, in conjunction either with typical EMIC-driven precipitation signatures observed by Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) or with in situ EMIC wave observations from Van Allen Probes. The multi-event analysis shows that electron precipitation occurred in a broad region near dusk (16–23 MLT), mostly confined to 3.5–7.5 L- shells. Each precipitation event occurred on localized radial scales, on average ∼0.3 L. Most importantly, FIREBIRD-II recorded electron precipitation from ∼200–300 keV to the expected ∼MeV energies for most cases, suggesting that EMIC waves can efficiently scatter a wide energy range of electrons.
Year of Publication
2021
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
n/a
Number of Pages
e2020GL091564
Date Published
02/2021
URL
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2020GL091564
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091564
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