Gradual diffusion and punctuated phase space density enhancements of highly relativistic electrons: Van Allen Probes observations
By D. N. Baker, A. Jaynes, Xinlin Li, Michael G. Henderson, S. Kanekal, G. Reeves, Harlan Spence, Seth G. Claudepierre, J. Fennell, M. Hudson and 9 more. 2014
147 citations recorded by the source corpus.
The dual‐spacecraft Van Allen Probes mission has provided a new window into mega electron volt (MeV) particle dynamics in the Earth's radiation belts. Observations (up to E ~10 MeV) show clearly the behavior of the outer electron radiation belt at different timescales: months‐long periods of gradual inward radial diffusive transport and weak loss being punctuated by dramatic flux changes driven by strong solar wind transient events. We present analysis of multi‐MeV electron flux and phase space density (PSD) changes during March 2013 in the context of the first year of Van Allen Probes operation. This March period demonstrates the classic signatures both of inward radial diffusive energization and abrupt localized acceleration deep within the outer Van Allen zone (L ~4.0 ± 0.5). This reveals graphically that both “competing” mechanisms of multi‐MeV electron energization are at play in the radiation belts, often acting almost concurrently or at least in rapid succession.
Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/85d15eae6b39207fc1ff79ca87ae6c37becfe282
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In Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Galina Bazilevskaya
- Eugene V. Rozanov
- K. Nicoll
- K. Aplin
- Richard Harrison
- J. Fennell
- I. Usoskin
- E. Turunen
Citations in the corpus
- Space Weather Effects in the Earth’s Radiation Belts (2018, background): “…limit the ability of highly relativistic electrons to penetrate to low L values during storms of the Van Allen Probes era (Lyons and Thorne (1973); Baker et al. 2014a); (2) localized precipitation of MeV electrons through wave mode coupling and wave–particle interactions induced by VLF…”
- Energetic Particle Influence on the Earth’s Atmosphere (2015, background): “Two Earth orbiters are dedicated to study of dynamics of Earth’s radiation belts and have already published several important results, concerning the behavior of relativistic electrons (Baker et al. 2014).”