RELATIVISTIC (E > 0.6, > 2.0, AND > 4.0 MeV) ELECTRON ACCELERATION AT GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT DURING HIGH-INTENSITY, LONG-DURATION, CONTINUOUS AE ACTIVITY (HILDCAA) EVENTS
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, São José dos Campos, São Paulo 12227-010 (Brazil)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
- Institute of Atmospheric Physics AS CR, Prague (Czech Republic)
Radiation-belt relativistic (E > 0.6, > 2.0, and > 4.0 MeV) electron acceleration is studied for solar cycle 23 (1995-2008). High-intensity, long-duration, continuous AE activity (HILDCAA) events are considered as the basis of the analyses. All of the 35 HILDCAA events under study were found to be characterized by flux enhancements of magnetospheric relativistic electrons of all three energies compared to the pre-event flux levels. For the E > 2.0 MeV electron fluxes, enhancement of >50% occurred during 100% of HILDCAAs. Cluster-4 passes were examined for electromagnetic chorus waves in the 5 < L < 10 and 0 < MLT < 12 region when wave data were available. Fully 100% of these HILDCAA cases were associated with enhanced whistler-mode chorus waves. The enhancements of E > 0.6, > 2.0, and > 4.0 MeV electrons occurred ∼1.0 day, ∼1.5 days, and ∼2.5 days after the statistical HILDCAA onset, respectively. The statistical acceleration rates for the three energy ranges were ∼1.8 × 10{sup 5}, 2.2 × 10{sup 3}, and 1.0 × 10{sup 1} cm{sup –2} s{sup –1} sr{sup –1} d{sup –1}, respectively. The relativistic electron-decay timescales were determined to be ∼7.7, 5.5, and 4.0 days for the three energy ranges, respectively. The HILDCAAs were divided into short-duration (D ≤ 3 days) and long-duration (D > 3 days) events to study the dependence of relativistic electron variation on HILDCAA duration. For long-duration events, the flux enhancements during HILDCAAs with respect to pre-event fluxes were ∼290%, 520%, and 82% for E > 0.6, > 2.0, and > 4.0 MeV electrons, respectively. The enhancements were ∼250%, 400%, and 27% respectively, for short-duration events. The results are discussed with respect to the current understanding of radiation-belt dynamics.
- OSTI ID:
- 22364528
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 799, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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