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Microbursts, short-lived but intense electron precipitation observed by low-Earth-orbiting satellites, may contribute significantly to the losses of energetic electrons in the outer radiation belt. Their origin is likely due to whistler mode chorus waves, as evidenced by a strong overlap in spatial correlation of the two. Despite previous efforts on modeling bursty electron precipitation induced by chorus waves, most, if not all, rely on the assumption that chorus waves are ducted along the field line with zero wave normal angle. Such ducting is limited to cases when fine-scale plasma density irregularities are present. In contrast, chorus waves propagate in a nonducted way in plasmas with smoothly varying density, allowing wave normals to gradually refract away from the magnetic field line. In this study, the interaction of ducted and nonducted chorus waves with energetic electrons is investigated using test particle simulation. Substantial differences in electron transport are found between the two different scenarios, and resultant electron precipitation patterns are compared. Such a comparison is valuable for interpreting low Earth-orbiting satellite observations of electron flux variation in response to the interaction with magnetospheric chorus waves.

In this study, by simulating the wave‐particle interactions, we show that subrelativistic/relativistic electron microbursts form the high‐energy tail of pulsating aurora (PsA). Whistler‐mode chorus waves that propagate along the magnetic field lines at high latitudes cause precipitation bursts of electrons with a wide energy range from a few kiloelectron volts (PsA) to several megaelectron volts (relativistic microbursts). The rising tone elements of chorus waves cause individual microbursts of subrelativistic/relativistic electrons and the internal modulation of PsA with a frequency of a few hertz. The chorus bursts for a few seconds cause the microburst trains of subrelativistic/relativistic electrons and the main pulsations of PsA. Our simulation studies demonstrate that both PsA and relativistic electron microbursts originate simultaneously from pitch angle scattering by chorus wave‐particle interactions along the field line., オーロラの明滅とともに、宇宙からキラー電子が降ってくることを解明. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2020-11-13.

We show that the anomalous cyclotron resonance between relativistic electrons and electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) triggered emissions takes place very effectively near the magnetic equator because of the variation of the ambient magnetic field. Efficient precipitations are caused by nonlinear trapping of relativistic electrons by electromagnetic wave potentials formed by EMIC triggered emissions. We derive the necessary conditions of the wave amplitude, kinetic energies, and pitch angles that must be satisfied for the nonlinear wave trapping. We have conducted test particle simulations with a large number of relativistic electrons trapped by a parabolic magnetic field near the magnetic equator. In the presence of coherent EMIC-triggered emissions with increasing frequencies, a substantial amount of relativistic electrons is trapped by the wave, and the relativistic electrons at high pitch angles are guided to lower pitch angles within a short time scale much less than a second, resulting in rapid precipitation of relativistic electrons or relativistic electron microbursts.

This study presents an analysis of a severe weather case that took place during the early morning of the 2nd of November 2008, when intense convective activity associated with a rapidly evolving low pressure system affected the southern coast of Catalonia (NE Spain). The synoptic framework was dominated by an upper level trough and an associated cold front extending from Gibraltar along the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula to SE France, which moved north-eastward. South easterly winds in the north of the Balearic Islands and the coast of Catalonia favoured high values of 0-3 km storm relative helicity which combined with moderate MLCAPE values and high shear favoured the conditions for organized convection. A number of multicell storms and others exhibiting supercell features, as indicated by Doppler radar observations, clustered later in a mesoscale convective system, and moved north-eastwards across Catalonia. They produced ground-level strong damaging wind gusts, an F2 tornado, hail and heavy rainfall. Total lightning activity (intra-cloud and cloud to ground flashes) was also relevant, exhibiting several classical features such as a sudden increased rate before ground level severe damage, as discussed in a companion study. Remarkable surface observations of this event include 24 h accumulations exceeding 100 mm in four different observatories and 30 minute rainfall amounts up to 40 mm which caused local flash floods. As the convective system evolved northward later that day it also affected SE France causing large hail, ground level damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall.

Using data from the High Frequency Waveform Receiver on board the Polar spacecraft, 1,765 and 993 wave normal angles have been analyzed for 13 orbits containing upper band magnetospheric chorus emissions and 15 orbits containing lower band emissions, respectively. The purpose of this study is to characterize the distribution of the polar wave normal angle, theta, for chorus emissions as a function of magnetic latitude, l. Understanding wave normal angles is an important step in evaluating resonant wave particle interactions. For upper band chorus, wave normal angles tend to remain at or rise toward the resonance cone angle for low latitudes and midlatitudes but move away from the resonance cone angle at higher latitudes. For lower band chorus, wave normal angles with values theta < 20 degrees have the highest probability of occurrence in the latitude range of 10 degrees-50 degrees. Just off the equator, 10 degrees, Office of Naval Research; NASA; NSF; GAAV