Observation and simulation of the rapid formation of a new electron radiation belt during March 24, 1991 SSC
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire (United States)
- Space Sciences Department, Aerospace Corporation, Los Angeles, California (United States)
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California (United States)
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota (United States)
An unprecedented {ital in} {ital situ} observation of the prompt formation of a new electron radiation belt along with the direct measurement of magnetic fields and electric fields was obtained by the CRRES satellite which was fortuitously situated at a distance of 2.55 {ital R}{sub {ital E}} near the equatorial plane at a local time of 0300 MLT during the March 24, 1991 SSC. A simulation shows that electrons with energies of a few MeV at {ital L}{gt}6 were energized up to 40 MeV and transported to {ital L}{approx_equal}2.5 during a fraction of their drift period. The energization process conserves the first adiabatic invariant and is enhanced due to resonance of the electron drift motion with the time-varying electric field. Our simulation results reproduce the observed electron drift echoes and show that the interplanetary shock impacted the magnetosphere between 1500 and 1800 MLT. These results which were previously reported are extended by including more observations and more simulation diagnostics. We show that individual electrons can gain energy at the rate of hundreds of keV/s by interacting with the wave, that many previously trapped electrons are lost into interplanetary space, and that the relativistic electron distribution is greatly affected at all {ital L}{gt}2 by the passage of the interplanetary shock. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}
- OSTI ID:
- 451683
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9408182--
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 383; ISSN 0094-243X; ISSN APCPCS
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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