Direct Observation of Subrelativistic Electron Precipitation Potentially Driven by EMIC Waves

Capannolo, L.; Li, W.; Ma, Q.; Chen, L.; Shen, X.‐C.; Spence, H. E.; Sample, J.; Johnson, A.; Shumko, M.; Klumpar, D. M.; Redmon, R. J.

doi:10.1029/2019GL084202

i

Direct Observation of Subrelativistic Electron Precipitation Potentially Driven by EMIC Waves

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2019
By Capannolo, L. ; Li, W. ; Ma, Q. ; ...

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Journal Title:

Geophysical Research Letters
Personal Author:

Capannolo, L. ; Li, W. ; Ma, Q. ; Chen, L. ; Shen, X.‐C. ; Spence, H. E. ; Sample, J. ; Johnson, A. ; Shumko, M. ; Klumpar, D. M. ; Redmon, R. J.
NOAA Program & Office:

CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences)
Description:

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves are known to typically cause electron losses into Earth's upper atmosphere at >~1 MeV, while the minimum energy of electrons subject to efficient EMIC-driven precipitation loss is unresolved. This letter reports electron precipitation from subrelativistic energies of ~250 keV up to ~1 MeV observed by the Focused Investigations of Relativistic Electron Burst Intensity, Range and Dynamics (FIREBIRD-II) CubeSats, while two Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) observed proton precipitation nearby. Van Allen Probe A detected EMIC waves (~0.7–2.0 nT) over the similar L shell extent of electron precipitation observed by FIREBIRD-II, albeit with a ~1.6 magnetic local time (MLT) difference. Although plasmaspheric hiss and magnetosonic waves were also observed, quasi-linear calculations indicate that EMIC waves were the most efficient in driving the electron precipitation. Quasi-linear theory predicts efficient precipitation at >0.8–1 MeV (due to H-band EMIC waves), suggesting that other mechanisms are required to explain the observed subrelativistic electron precipitation.
Keywords:

Electron Precipitation Radiation Belts Upper Atmosphere Electron Precipitation Radiation Belts Upper Atmosphere Electron Precipitation EMIC Waves FIREBIRD-II General Earth And Planetary Sciences Geophysics Quasi Linear Theory Radiation Belts Wave Particle Interactions
Source:

Geophysical Research Letters, 46(22), 12711-12721
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084202
Document Type:

Journal Article
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urn:sha256:ca7cf377639cc68b1f19e1321b0d7fd412f535c8381776e8024f2e06b1a19554
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https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/46577/noaa_46577_DS1.pdf
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