Numerical tracing of energetic particle drifts in a model magnetosphere
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
The authors present results from a model developed to study the motion of impulsively injected energetic particles which become trapped in the Earth's magnetic field at geosynchronous orbit. The model is based on numerically solving the analytic expressions for the bounce average gradient and curvature drift in a model magnetic field. The predicted motion of trapped geosynchronous particles in the Tsyganenko and Usmanov (1982) model (TU-82) has characteristics which are not predicted by less sophisticated models. They investigate the motion of drifting particles predicted by the model under various conditions such as: Kp level, pitch angle, orientation of the magnetic field, and location of the origin of the drift shell. As a test of the predictions of the model, they apply it to observations of a substorm injection event which took place on October 16, 1983, and was observed by three geosynchronous satellites. The injection region for this event is found to span approximately 45{degree} from near midnight to near 2100 LT. They also report the existence of a periphery outside the central injection where either injected ions or electrons, but not both, are observed with dispersionless signatures. The internal consistency of the predictions of the structure of the injection region using remote observations from the three geostationary satellites and the TU-82 field model is found to be quite good.
- OSTI ID:
- 5222325
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States) Vol. 96:A8; ISSN 0148-0227; ISSN JGREA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BARYONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
GEOMAGNETIC FIELD
HADRONS
LEPTONS
MAGNETIC BAYS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUCLEONS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
PLASMA DRIFT
PROTONS
TRAPPED ELECTRONS
TRAPPED PROTONS