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Abstract Precipitation of relativistic electrons into the Earth's atmosphere regulates the outer radiation belt fluxes and contributes to magnetosphere‐atmosphere coupling. One of the main drivers of such precipitation is electron scattering by whistler‐mode waves. Such waves typically originate at the equator, where they can resonate with and scatter sub‐relativistic (tens to a few hundred keV) electrons. However, they can occasionally propagate far away from the equator along field lines, reaching middle latitudes, where they can resonate with and scatter relativistic (>500 keV) electrons. Such a propagation is typical for the dayside, but statistically has not been found on the nightside where the waves are quickly damped along their propagation due to Landau damping. Here we explore two events of relativistic electron precipitation from low‐altitude observations on the nightside. Combining measurements of whistler‐mode waves from ground observatories, relativistic electron precipitation from low‐altitude satellites, total electron content maps from GPS receivers, and magnetic field and electron flux from equatorial satellites, we show wave ducting by plasma density gradients is the possible channel that allows the waves to reach middle latitudes and scatter relativistic electrons. We suggest that both whistler‐mode wave generation and ducting can be driven by equatorial mesoscale (with spatial scales of about one Earth radius) transient structures during nightside injections. We also compare these nightside events with observations of ducted waves and relativistic electron precipitation at the dayside, where wave generation and ducting are driven by ultra‐low‐frequency waves. This study demonstrates the potential importance of mesoscale transients in relativistic electron precipitation, but does not however unequivocally establish that ducted whistler‐mode waves are the primary cause of the observed electron precipitation.
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Role of Ducting in Relativistic Electron Loss by Whistler‐Mode Wave Scattering
Abstract Resonant interactions of energetic electrons with electromagnetic whistler‐mode waves (whistlers) contribute significantly to the dynamics of electron fluxes in Earth's outer radiation belt. At low geomagnetic latitudes, these waves are very effective in pitch angle scattering and precipitation into the ionosphere of low equatorial pitch angle, tens of keV electrons and acceleration of high equatorial pitch angle electrons to relativistic energies. Relativistic (hundreds of keV), electrons may also be precipitated by resonant interaction with whistlers, but this requires waves propagating quasi‐parallel without significant intensity decrease to high latitudes where they can resonate with higher energy low equatorial pitch angle electrons than at the equator. Wave propagation away from the equatorial source region in a non‐uniform magnetic field leads to ray divergence from the originally field‐aligned direction and efficient wave damping by Landau resonance with suprathermal electrons, reducing the wave ability to scatter electrons at high latitudes. However, wave propagation can become ducted along field‐aligned density peaks (ducts), preventing ray divergence and wave damping. Such ducting may therefore result in significant relativistic electron precipitation. We present evidence that ducted whistlers efficiently precipitate relativistic electrons. We employ simultaneous near‐equatorial and ground‐based measurements of whistlers and low‐altitude electron precipitation measurements by ELFIN CubeSat. We show that ducted waves (appearing on the ground) efficiently scatter relativistic electrons into the loss cone, contrary to non‐ducted waves (absent on the ground) precipitating onlykeV electrons. Our results indicate that ducted whistlers may be quite significant for relativistic electron losses; they should be further studied statistically and possibly incorporated in radiation belt models.
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- PAR ID:
- 10375302
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
- Volume:
- 126
- Issue:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 2169-9380
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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