Elena Villalón

Pitch angle scattering of diffuse auroral electrons by whistler mode waves

Resonant electron-whistler interactions in the plasma sheet are investigated as possible explanations of the nearly isotropic fluxes of low-energy electrons observed above the diffuse aurora. Whistler mode waves, propagating near the resonance cone with frequencies near or larger than half the equatorial electron cyclotron frequency, can interact with low-energy plasma sheet electrons. A Hamiltonian formulation is developed for test particles interacting with the coherent chorus emission spectra. We consider the second-order resonance condition which requires that inhomogeneities in the Earths magnetic field be compensated by a finite bandwidth of wave frequencies to maintain resonance for extended distances along field lines. These second-order interactions are very efficient in scattering the electrons toward the atmospheric loss cone. Numerical calculations are presented for the magnetic shell L = 5.5 for wave amplitudes of ∼ 10−6 V/m, using different frequency and magnetospheric conditions.

Relativistic particle acceleration by obliquely propagating electromagnetic fields

The relativistic equations of motion are analyzed for charged particles in a magnetized plasma and externally imposed electromagnetic fields (ω, k), which have wave vectors k that are at arbitrary angles. The particle energy is obtained from a set of nonlinear differential equations, as a function of time, initial conditions, and cyclotron harmonic numbers. For a given cyclotron resonance, the energy oscillates in time within the limits of a potential well; stochastic acceleration occurs if the widths of different Hamiltonian potentials overlap. The net energy gain for a given harmonic increase with the angle of propagation, and decreases as the magnitude of the wave magnetic field increases. Potential applications of these results to the acceleration of ionsopheric electrons are presented.

Near-equatorial pitch angle diffusion of energetic electrons by oblique whistler waves

The pitch angle scattering of trapped, energetic electrons by obliquely propagating whistler waves in the equatorial regions of the plasmasphere is investigated. Storm-injected electrons moving along field lines near the equator interact with electromagnetic waves whose frequencies are Doppler-shifted to some harmonic of the cyclotron frequency. The wave normals are distributed almost parallel to the geomagnetic field. Waves grow from the combined contributions of a large reservoir of energetic electrons that are driven into the loss cone by the highest-harmonic interactions permitted to them. Relativistic, quasi-linear theory is applied to obtain self-consistent equations describing the temporal evolution of waves and particles over time scales which are longer than the particle bounce time and group time delay of the waves. The equilibrium solutions and their stability are studied, considering the reflection of the waves by the ionosphere and the coupling of multiple harmonic resonances. The contributions of nonlocal wave sources are also included in the theory. Numerical computations based on our theoretical analysis for regions inside the plasmasphere (L ≤ 2) and near the plasmapause (L ∼ 4.5) and for the first three harmonic resonances are presented.

Diffusion of radiation belt protons by whistler waves

Whistler waves propagating near the quasi-electrostatic limit can interact with energetic protons ({approximately}80-500 keV) that are transported into the radiation belts. The waves may be launched from either the ground or generated in the magnetosphere as a result of the resonant interactions with trapped electrons. The wave frequencies are significant fractions of the equatorial electron gyrofrequency, and they propagate oliquely to the geomagnetic field. A finite spectrum of waves compensates for the inhomogeneity of the geomagnetic field allowing the protons to stay in gyroresonance with the waves over long distances along magnetic field lines. The Fokker-Planck equation is integrated along the flux tube considering the contributions of multiple-resonance crossings. The quasi-linear diffusion coefficients in energy, cross energy/pitch angle, and pitch angle are obtained for second-order resonant interactions. They are shown to be proportional to the electric fields amplitudes. Numerical calculations for the second-order interactions show that diffusion dominates near the edge of the loss cone. For small pitch angles the largest diffusion coefficient is in energy, although the cross energy/pitch angle term is also important. This may explain the induced proton precipitation observed in active space experiments. 24 refs., 12 figs.

Theory of quasi‐monochromatic whistler wave generation in the inner plasma sheet

Nonlinear interactions between plasma sheet electrons and nearly monochromatic whistler wave packets are studied. The theory applies to the generation of chorus emissions from quasi-monochromatic wavelets observed in the plasma sheet at the top of the ELF/VLF hiss band. The hiss-triggered chorus is produced by step-like deformations that develop in distribution functions at the boundaries between resonant and nonresonant electrons. Equations are obtained describing the wave amplitudes and frequency-time characteristics for propagation at small angles with respect to the geomagnetic field. The linear resonant interactions leading to wavelet generation are investigated. The resonant wave frequencies change along the field lines to compensate for geomagnetic field inhomogeneities. If the electric fields exceed the amplitudes of those in the background plasmapheric hiss (≫ 10−6 V/m), electrons become trapped in phase space, and their distribution functions develop plateaus whose extents are proportional to the square roots of electric field amplitudes. Nonlinear currents generated by the trapped electrons are studied to obtain analytical representations of the growth rates and frequency spreads. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate our theoretical analysis.

Active control and nonlinear feedback instabilities in the earth's radiation belts

Abstract The stability of trapped particle fluxes are examined near the Kennel-Petschek limit. In the absence of coupling between the ionosphere and magnetosphere it is found that both the fluxes and the associated wave intensities are stable to external perturbations. However, if the ionosphere and magnetosphere are coupled through the ducting of the waves then a positive feedback may develop depending on the efficiency of the coupling. This results is a spiky, nonlinear precipitation pattern which for electrons has a period on the order of hundreds of seconds. Here we give a linear analysis that highlights the regions of instability together with a computer simulation of the nonlinear regimes.