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We report on results of systematic analyses of the entire three X-ray data sets of Jupiter taken by Suzaku in 2006, 2012, and 2014. Jovian diffuse hard X-ray emission was discovered by Suzaku in 2006 when the solar activity went toward its minimum. The diffuse emission was spatially consistent with the Jovian inner magnetosphere and was spectrally fitted with a flat power-law function suggesting non-thermal emission. Thus, a scenario in which ultra-relativistic (tens of MeV) electrons in the Jovian inner magnetosphere inverse-Comptonize solar visible photons into X-ray bands has been hypothetically proposed. We focused on the dependence of the Jovian diffuse hard X-ray emission on the solar activity to verify this scenario. The solar activity in 2012 and 2014 was around the maximum of the 24th solar cycle. By combining the imaging and spectral analyses for the three data sets, we successfully separated the contribution of the diffuse emission from the emission of Jupiter’s body (i.e., the aurora and disk emission). The 1–5 keV luminosity of the diffuse emission has been stable and did not vary significantly, and did not simply depend on the solar activity, which is also known to affect the high-energy electron distribution in the Jovian inner magnetosphere scarcely. The luminosity of the body emission both in 0.2–1 and 1–5 keV, in contrast, probably depended on the solar activity and varied by a factor of 2–5. These results strongly supported the inverse-Compton scattering scenario by the ultra-relativistic electrons. In this paper, we estimate spatial and spectral distributions of the inverse-Compton scattering X-rays by Jovian magnetospheric high-energy electrons with reference to the Divine–Garrett model and found a possible agreement in an inner region (≲10 RJ) for the X-ray observations.

The butterfly distribution is one of the characteristic features of the electron pitch angle distribution in electron radiation belts, and it has the maximum electron flux intensity at the pitch an...

This study reports a relation between electron flux modulations and chorus emissions by using correlation analysis. On April 18, 2017, Arase observed an enhancement of electron fluxes and intensification of banded chorus emissions at the same time. A result of the analysis shows that both the upper-band and lower-band chorus emissions have good correlations with field-aligned electron fluxes that satisfy their resonance conditions. This indicates simultaneous interactions with both the emission bands and electrons, resulting in electron pitch-angle scattering toward the magnetic field direction. In addition, low-energy electron fluxes in the perpendicular direction also show positive correlations with the chorus intensities, probably because the chorus emissions are modulated by a fluctuation of perpendicular low-energy electron fluxes.

著者人数: 12名, Accepted: 2019-10-25, 資料番号: SA1190126000

A study using Arase data gives the first observational evidence that the frequency drift of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves is caused by cyclotron trapping. EMIC emissions play an important role in planetary magnetospheres, causing scattering loss of radiation belt relativistic electrons and energetic protons. EMIC waves frequently show nonlinear signatures that include frequency drift and amplitude enhancements. While nonlinear growth theory has suggested that the frequency change is caused by nonlinear resonant currents owing to cyclotron trapping of the particles, observational evidence for this has been elusive. We survey the wave data observed by Arase from March, 2017 to September 2019, and find the best falling tone emission event, one detected on 11th November, 2017, for the wave particle interaction analysis. Here, we show for the first time direct evidence of the formation of a proton hill in phase space indicating cyclotron trapping. The associated resonance currents and the wave growth of a falling tone EMIC wave are observed coincident with the hill, as theoretically predicted., 宇宙空間で電波を生み出す陽子の集団を発見 --JAXAの人工衛星「あらせ」の観測と解析から--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-07-12.

The temporal variation of the energetic electron flux distribution caused by whistler mode chorus waves through the cyclotron resonant interaction provides crucial information on how electrons are ...

During the second half of 2019, a sequence of solar wind high-speed streams (VSW ≥ 600 km/s) impacted the magnetosphere, resulting in a series of recurrent, relatively weak, geomagnetic storms (Dstmin ≥ - 80 nT). During one of these storms, a longer-lasting solar wind pressure pulse and intense substorm activity were also recorded (AL ≤ - 1600 nT on August 31 and September 1).We use particle measurements from the Van Allen Probes, Arase and Galileo 207, 215 satellites, to investigate this event; all spacecraft observed a significant enhancement of relativistic electron fluxes. We also use ULF and chorus wave measurements, as well as interplanetary parameters, for a detailed investigation of this event and of the acceleration mechanisms involved.This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 870437 for the SafeSpace project.

Bright, discrete, thin auroral arcs are a typical form of auroras in nightside polar regions. Their light is produced by magnetospheric electrons, accelerated downward to obtain energies of several kilo electron volts by a quasi-static electric field. These electrons collide with and excite thermosphere atoms to higher energy states at altitude of ~ 100 km; relaxation from these states produces the auroral light. The electric potential accelerating the aurora-producing electrons has been reported to lie immediately above the ionosphere, at a few altitudes of thousand kilometres1. However, the highest altitude at which the precipitating electron is accelerated by the parallel potential drop is still unclear. Here, we show that active auroral arcs are powered by electrons accelerated at altitudes reaching greater than 30, 000 km. We employ high-angular resolution electron observations achieved by the Arase satellite in the magnetosphere and optical observations of the aurora from a ground-based all-sky imager. Our observations of electron properties and dynamics resemble those of electron potential acceleration reported from low-altitude satellites except that the acceleration region is much higher than previously assumed. This shows that the dominant auroral acceleration region can extend far above a few thousand kilometres, well within the magnetospheric plasma proper, suggesting formation of the acceleration region by some unknown magnetospheric mechanisms., オーロラ粒子の加速領域が超高高度まで広がっていたことを解明 －オーロラ粒子の加速の定説を覆す発見－. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-01-20.

In this study, by simulating the wave-particle interactions, we show that sub-relativistic/relativistic electron microbursts form the high-energy tail of pulsating aurora (PsA). Whistler-mode choru...

Using a ground-based five-wavelength photometer, which has been operative in Tromsø, Norway since February 2017, we have statistically analyzed the lifetime of O(1S) to reveal the emission altitude of pulsating aurora (PsA). For the statistics, we have extracted intervals of PsA using an EMCCD all-sky imager on 37 nights during 3 months from January to March, 2018. By performing a cross-correlation analysis between the time-series of 427.8 nm (N2+ first negative band) and 557.7 nm oxygen emissions, we derived the distribution of the lifetime of O(1S). The mean of the lifetime is 0.67 s and the mode is around 0.7 s. We estimated the emission altitude of PsA using the lifetime of O(1S) and then carried out a case study, in which we compared the temporal variations of the emission altitude with the peak height of E region ionization obtained from the simultaneous observation of the EISCAT UHF radar. We confirmed an overall agreement between the two parameters, indicating the feasibility of using the current method for estimating the energy of precipitating electrons causing PsA. In addition, we have derived the statistical characteristics of the emission altitude of PsA. The result shows that the emission altitude becomes lower in the morning side than in the midnight sector, which indicates that the energy of PsA electrons is higher in the later MLT sector. Especially, there is a decrease of the emission altitude at around 06 MLT. However, the model calculation infers that the energy of cyclotron resonance between magnetospheric electrons and whistler-mode chorus waves does not change so much depending on MLT. This implies that the observed change of the emission altitude cannot be explained only by the MLT dependence of resonance energy.

Accepted: 2018-07-20, 資料番号: SA1180140000

Pulsating aurorae (PsA) are caused by the intermittent precipitations of magnetospheric electrons (energies of a few keV to a few tens of keV) through wave-particle interactions, thereby depositing most of their energy at altitudes ~ 100 km. However, the maximum energy of precipitated electrons and its impacts on the atmosphere are unknown. Herein, we report unique observations by the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) radar showing electron precipitations ranging from a few hundred keV to a few MeV during a PsA associated with a weak geomagnetic storm. Simultaneously, the Arase spacecraft has observed intense whistler-mode chorus waves at the conjugate location along magnetic field lines. A computer simulation based on the EISCAT observations shows immediate catalytic ozone depletion at the mesospheric altitudes. Since PsA occurs frequently, often in daily basis, and extends its impact over large MLT areas, we anticipate that the PsA possesses a significant forcing to the mesospheric ozone chemistry in high latitudes through high energy electron precipitations. Therefore, the generation of PsA results in the depletion of mesospheric ozone through high-energy electron precipitations caused by whistler-mode chorus waves, which are similar to the well-known effect due to solar energetic protons triggered by solar flares., 明滅オーロラとともに起こるオゾン破壊 --宇宙からの高エネルギー電子が大気に及ぼす影響を実証--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-07-14.

We report observational evidence of cold plamsmaspheric electron (< 200 eV) acceleration by ultra-low-frequency (ULF) waves in the plasmaspheric boundary layer on 10 September 2015. Strongly enhanced cold electron fluxes in the energy spectrogram were observed along with second harmonic mode waves with a period of about 1 minute which lasted several hours during two consecutive Van Allen Probe B orbits. Cold electron (

著者人数: 28名, Accepted: 2018-12-05, 資料番号: SA1180259000

Understanding the physical processes that control the dynamics of energetic particles in the inner magnetosphere is important for both space-borne and ground-based assets essential to the modern society. The storm time distribution of ring current particles in the inner magnetosphere depends strongly on their transport in the evolving electric and magnetic fields along with particle acceleration and loss. In this study, we investigated the ring current particle variations using observations and simulations. We compared the ion (H+, He+, and O+) and electron flux and plasma pressure variations from Arase observations with the self-consistent inner magnetosphere model: Ring current Atmosphere interactions Model with Self Consistent magnetic field (RAM-SCB) during the 7–8 November 2017 geomagnetic storm. We investigated the contribution of the different species (ions and electrons) to the magnetic field deformation observed at ground magnetic stations (09°–45° MLat) using RAM-SCB simulations. The results show that the ions are the major contributor with ∼88% and electrons contribute ∼12% to the total ring current pressure. It is also found that the electron contribution is non-negligible (∼18%) to the ring current in dawn-side during the main phase of the storm. Thus, the electron contribution to the storm time ring current is important and should not be neglected.

Wave-particle interactions with whistler chorus waves are believed to provide a primary acceleration for electrons in the outer radiation belt. Previous models for flux enhancement of the radiation belt have assumed the stochastic process as a diffusion manner of successive random-phase interactions, but physical mechanisms for the acceleration are not fully incorporated in these models because of the lack of a nonlinear scattering process. Here we report rapid increase in relativistic electron flux by using an innovative computer simulation model that incorporates not only diffusive process but also nonlinear scattering processes. The simulations show that three types of scattering simultaneously occur, which are diffusive, phase-trapping, and phase-bunching. It is found that the phase-trapping is the most efficient mechanism to produce the MeV electrons rapidly in the scattering processes. The electrons are accelerated from 400 keV to over 1 MeV in time scale less than 60 seconds. On the other hand, as the phase-trapping is suppressed by the breaking of relative phase angle between waves and gyrating electrons during the interaction, the increase of electron flux at MeV energy is clearly reduced. Our simulations conclude that the phase-trapping process causes a significant effect for the increase in relativistic electron flux, and suggest that a quasi-linear diffusion model is not always valid to fully describe the relativistic electron acceleration.

著者人数: 20名, Accepted: 2018-11-13, 資料番号: SA1180262000

著者人数: 14名, Accepted: 2018-05-01, 資料番号: SA1180022000

The Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave is one of the key phenomena to understand the loss dynamics of MeV-energy electrons in the Earth's radiation belt. The precipitation into the ionosphere of MeV-energy electrons was observed in the isolated proton aurora which is an ionospheric footprint for the region of EMIC wave-particle interaction in the magnetosphere [1]. However, it is still unclear how significant the EMIC wave is in terms of the global scale of the whole radiation belt, and it is important to understand where and when the preferable condition is set in the radiation belt of the inner magnetosphere for strong EMIC waves.

Particles are accelerated to very high, non-thermal energies in solar and space plasma environments. While energy spectra of accelerated electrons often exhibit a power law, it remains unclear how electrons are accelerated to high energies and what processes determine the power-law index $\delta$. Here, we review previous observations of the power-law index $\delta$ in a variety of different plasma environments with a particular focus on sub-relativistic electrons. It appears that in regions more closely related to magnetic reconnection (such as the `above-the-looptop' solar hard X-ray source and the plasma sheet in Earth's magnetotail), the spectra are typically soft ($\delta \gtrsim$ 4). This is in contrast to the typically hard spectra ($\delta \lesssim$ 4) that are observed in coincidence with shocks. The difference implies that shocks are more efficient in producing a larger non-thermal fraction of electron energies when compared to magnetic reconnection. A caveat is that during active times in Earth's magnetotail, $\delta$ values seem spatially uniform in the plasma sheet, while power-law distributions still exist even in quiet times. The role of magnetotail reconnection in the electron power-law formation could therefore be confounded with these background conditions. Because different regions have been studied with different instrumentations and methodologies, we point out a need for more systematic and coordinated studies of power-law distributions for a better understanding of possible scaling laws in particle acceleration as well as their universality., Comment: 67 pages, 15 figures; submitted to Space Science Reviews; comments welcome

Source at https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-018-0936-z. One of the representative auroral emission lines that radiates from F-region heights and is measurable on the ground is the 777.4 nm line from excited atomic oxygen. This line has been adopted, along with another E-region emission line, for example 427.8 nm, to estimate the mean energy and total energy flux of precipitating auroral electrons. The influence of emissions from part of the molecular nitrogen band, which mainly radiate from E-region heights, should be carefully evaluated because it might overlap the 777.4 nm atomic oxygen line in the spectrum. We performed statistical analysis of auroral spectrograph measurements that were obtained during the winter of 2016–2017 in Tromsø, Norway, to derive the ratio of the intensity of the 777.4 nm atomic oxygen line to that of the net measurement through a typically used optical filter with a full width at half maximum of a few nm. The ratio had a negative trend against geomagnetic activity, with a primary distribution of 0.5–0.7 and a minimum value of 0.3 for the most active auroral condition in this study. This result suggests that the 30–50% emission intensities measured through the optical filter may be from the molecular nitrogen band.

著者人数: 13名, Accepted: 2015-08-19, 資料番号: SA1150295000

A statistical study on the cross-scale property on the temporal variations of pulsating aurora intensity was conducted on 53 events observed at the Poker Flat Research Range during the period from 1 December 2011 to 1 March 2012. The observed modulation frequency ranged from 1.5 to 3.3 Hz, and strong modulations were not seen in the frequency range higher than about 3 Hz. This suggests that the time of flight of electrons has a time-smoothing effect on the more rapid variations above 3 Hz. Furthermore, the frequency of modulation showed relatively strong correlation to auroral intensity (correlation coefficient of 0.58), and it can be explained with nonlinear wave growth theory, in which the modulation frequency increases with the wave amplitude of the whistler mode chorus. In contrast, the on-off pulsations showed no significant correlations with auroral intensity. This result probably implies that several different plasma processes with different time scales from nonlinear wave growth should be taken into account when determining the on-off periods. In particular, we suggest that long-term variations in the cold plasma density play a dominant role in controlling the conditions of wave-particle interactions that have temporal scale of the on-off pulsation periods.

Accepted: 2014-04-30, 資料番号: SA1140119000

[1] This paper describes a unique observation of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves in the deep inner magnetosphere at L = 2.5 − 5 made by the Akebono satellite at altitudes of 3,300 − 8,700 km. The mode conversion, i.e., L mode (He+ band) → R mode (He+ band) → L mode (O+ band) was clearly identified from the equator to high latitudes. In addition, we found rising tone structures, recently identified as EMIC triggered emissions, which could lead to bursty precipitation of relativistic electrons. First, we estimated the ion composition ratio (H+, He+, O+) = (83%, 16%, 1%) from polarization analysis. Second, we estimated minimum resonant electron energies with the observed EMIC waves and triggered emissions to be ∼1–10 MeV. The satellite trajectory during the wave observation was primarily through the slot region of electron radiation belts. The collocation implies possible contribution of EMIC waves to formation of the slot region of radiation belts after a magnetic storm.

[1] Relativistic electron flux in the outer radiation belt tends to increase during the high-speed solar wind stream (HSS) events. However, HSS events do not always cause large flux enhancement. To determine the HSS events that cause such enhancement and the mechanisms that are responsible for accelerating the electrons, we analyzed long-term plasma data sets, for periods longer than one solar cycle. We demonstrate that during HSS events with the southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)-dominant HSS (SBz-HSS), relativistic electrons are accelerated by whistler mode waves; however, during HSS events with the northward IMF-dominant HSS, this acceleration mechanism is not effective. The differences in the responses of the outer radiation belt flux variations are caused by the differences in the whistler mode wave–electron interactions associated with a series of substorms. During SBz-HSS events, hot electron injections occur and the thermal plasma density decreases due to the shrinkage of the plasmapause, causing large flux enhancement of relativistic electrons through whistler mode wave excitation. These results explain why large flux enhancement of relativistic electrons tends to occur during SBz-HSS events.

著者人数: 11名, Accepted: 2013-02-18, 資料番号: SA1004122000

It has been believed that electrons in the inner belt do not show the dynamical variation during magnetic storms except for great magnetic storms. However, Tadokoro et al. (2007) recently disclosed that low-altitude electrons in the inner belt frequently show flux variations during storms (Storm Time inner belt Electron Enhancement at the Low altitude (STEEL)). This paper investigates a possible mechanism explaining STEEL during small and moderate storms, and shows that it is caused not by radial transport processes but by pitch angle scattering through wave-particle interactions. The waves related to wave-particle interactions are attributed to be banded whistler mode waves around 30 kHz observed in the inner magnetosphere by the Akebono satellite. The estimated pitch angle distribution based on a numerical calculation is roughly consistent with the observed results.

Wave Particle Interaction Analyzer (WPIA) is onboard software to be installed in the upcoming JAXA/ERG satellite. The significance of the WPIA is studied for measurement of the energy transfer process directly between energetic electrons and whistler-mode chorus emissions in the Earth's inner magnetosphere. The WPIA measures a relative phase angle between the wave electromagnetic field vector (E or B) and velocity vector (v) of each electron and computes physical quantities such as an inner product W, where W is the inner product between v and E and is the time variation of the kinetic energy of energetic electrons interacting with plasma waves. This paper presents the feasibility of the WPIA, which is evaluated by applying the analysis to simulation results of whistler-mode chorus generation.

International audience; Using the plasma wave and electron data obtained from Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, we show a signature of electron pitch angle scattering driven by Electrostatic Cyclotron Harmonic (ECH) waves in the velocity distribution function (VDF). The diffusion curve of whistler mode waves is used as a proxy to identify changes in VDFs due to wave-particle interactions. We confirm that the shape of the VDF well agrees with the diffusion curve of whistler mode waves when whistler mode chorus alone is active. On the other hand, we find that the shape of the VDF deviates from the diffusion curves at low pitch angles when ECH waves are active following the inactivation of chorus waves. The result is observational support for electron pitch angle scattering caused by ECH waves and suggests that ECH waves can contribute to generation of diffuse auroras.

The pitch angle distribution of relativistic electrons in the inner radiation belt and its relation to local plasma waves were investigated using the data from the Akebono satellite. It was found that energetic electrons (>1 MeV) in the inner radiation belt showed an unexpected dumbbell distribution near the magnetic equator. This feature was commonly observed both in magnetically disturbed and undisturbed conditions. It was also found that this anomalous pitch angle distribution of energetic electrons was always accompanied with the enhancement of local UHR waves around the magnetic equator. These newly found features indicate the existence of an unknown wave-particle interaction process between the relativistic electrons and quasi-electrostatic plasma waves in the equatorial region of the plasmasphere.

Using NOAA and Akebono observations, we examined variations of the energetic electron flux in the outer radiation zone during the May 2 and 4, 1998 magnetic storm, which was a “two-step” storm. Both a flux dropout and an inward shift of the outer belt MeV electrons were recorded during the main phase of the May 2 magnetic storm. A very big injection of the intermediate energy (30– 100 keV ) electrons to the heart of the outer radiation zone took place during the main phase of the storm. During the recovery phase of the storm an increase in the MeV electron flux was seen, which surpassed the pre-storm level in one day. Comparison of NOAA and Akebono observations yields that the injected electrons with the energy of ∼100 keV seeded a subsequent enhancement of the MeV electrons in the outer radiation zone. A more inward shift of the peak position as well as a flux dropout occurred during the main phase of the May 4 magnetic storm. No significant injection of the intermediate energy (30– 100 keV ) electrons was, however, seen during the main phase of the May 4 magnetic storm. A remarkable increase of the MeV electron flux was seen during the recovery phase of the storm. The pre-existing intermediate electrons seeded the increase of the MeV electrons near the new peak portion. The increase propagated to higher L values with a significant time delay, suggesting an enhanced radial diffusion.

The detailed observation of Jovian decimetric radiation (DIM) from relativistic electrons in the Jovian radiation belt has been carried out to seek the existence of its short term variation. In the observation, the terrestrial atmospheric extinction effect was corrected using the sky tipping method. Moreover, the back ground confusion which was the serious problem of the past observations was also evaluated. As the result, the DIM flux enhancement with a duration of a few days in November 1996 was confirmed. The data also showed the changes of the magnetic latitude beaming curves during the flux enhancement. These results showed that the relativistic electrons in Jovian radiation belt which has been thought to be stable has a short term variation.

[1] Relativistic electron microbursts, which are bursty enhancements of the precipitation of relativistic electrons, are often observed by low-altitude satellite measurements. These microbursts are likely to play an important role in high-energy electron flux loss in the outer radiation belt. Some observations suggest that whistler chorus waves are a cause of relativistic electron microbursts. First, we derived the relativistic time of flight model considering the propagation of whistler mode waves, and then investigated characteristics of the precipitations. We found that relativistic electron precipitation has a positive energy dispersion at low altitude. The duration of electron precipitation by one whistler chorus element decreases when the energy of the precipitated electrons is increased. We then performed three-dimensional test particle simulation with a newly developed wave-particle interaction model using realistic plasma parameters in the inner magnetosphere. The test particle simulation showed for the first time that the resonant interactions with whistler chorus elements at high-latitudes produce bursty enhancements of relativistic electron precipitation, thus confirming the results of the TOF analysis. A few Hz modulations are embedded in the precipitating electron flux variations, which is associated with the repetition period of the whistler chorus elements. The simulation results indicate that microbursts of relativistic electrons of the outer belt are caused by chorus wave-particle interactions at high latitudes and a series of rising tone elements of chorus waves produce a few Hz modulation of microbursts observed by the SAMPEX satellite.

[1] Based on conjugate ground and THEMIS satellite observations, we show electron spectra and wave characteristics near the magnetic equatorial plane during a pulsating aurora event on the high latitude side of the auroral oval. The pulsating aurora was observed by a 30-Hz sampled all-sky imager (ASI) at Gillam (56.4°N, 265.4°E), Canada, at ∼0840-0910 UT on 8 January 2008. The auroral intensity pulsation at the possible THEMIS D (THD) footprints had frequency peaks at ∼0.1–0.2 Hz. The footprint of THD was in the poleward part of the proton aurora observed by a meridian-scanning photometer. After auroral pulsation began at ∼0842 UT, both THD and THEMIS E which was near THD in the mid-tail at 11.6–11.8 RE, observed enhanced field-aligned electron fluxes at energies of 1–10 keV. However, the amplitudes of whistler mode waves and electrostatic cyclotron harmonics (ECH) waves observed by THD with the highest sampling rate of 8 kHz were not significant, showing a marked contrast to the recent report of clear correlation between whistler mode waves and auroral pulsations observed at 5–9 RE. We suggest that the observed field-aligned electrons, which are probably caused by Fermi-type acceleration associated with earthward plasma flow in the mid-tail plasma sheet, are modulated by some wave processes to cause pulsating auroras.

[1] It has been suggested that dispersive Alfven waves (DAWs) are capable of accelerating electrons via Landau resonance, and the interference of DAWs plays an essential role to create flickering auroral patterns. Here we show evidence that the leading front of a typical interference pattern is more energetic than the trailing part, based on ground-based high-speed imaging observations at wavelengths of 670.5 nm and 844.6 nm, which are sensitive to relatively hard and soft electrons, respectively. The fine spatial resolution of 9.5 deg field-of-view at magnetic zenith and the 100 Hz sampling rate of electron multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) enabled us to resolve the spatiotemporal variation of the flickering aurora. It is found that there is only 10 ms time delay with 0.5 km spatial shift on average in the obtained flickering patterns at two wavelengths. The time delay and spatial shift can be comprehensively explained by the traveling inhomogeneous interference pattern of DAWs, probably associated with the Landau damping and/or time-of-flight effect, which is only detectable using the highest resolved temporal and spatial observations of flickering aurora.

[1] Relativistic electron fluxes of the outer radiation belt often decrease rapidly in response to solar wind disturbances. The importance of the magnetopause shadowing (MPS) effect on such electron losses has yet to be quantified. If the MPS is essential for outer radiation belt electron losses, a close relationship between the outer edge of the outer belt and the magnetopause standoff distance is expected. Using GOES and THEMIS data, we examined earthward movement of the outer edge of the outer belt during electron loss events at geosynchronous orbit and its correlation with the magnetopause standoff distance. In events with significant earthward movement, we found a good correlation. There were no clear correlations in events without significant earthward movement, however. Comparing the observational results with a test particle simulation, the observed dependence between the outer edge and the magnetopause standoff distance is consistent with the MPS effect.

[1] Using the electron data from the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft measurements from 2007 to 2009, we derived global phase space density (PSD) distributions of plasma sheet electrons (2–100 eV/nT) to examine the transport process of the electrons to the inner magnetosphere and possible loss mechanisms of plasma sheet electrons during the convective transport. The inner boundaries of the electron plasma sheet were determined by the observed global distributions and compared with the Alfven boundaries that were calculated by the sum of the simple corotation and convection electric field models. This comparison confirms the previous results that the large-scale convection electric field controls the electron transport to the inner magnetosphere. The gradual decrease in PSD is observed from the dawn to the dayside sector, indicating the existence of some loss mechanisms in the morning sector. The loss time scales estimated from the PSD distributions were compared with the theoretical ones based on the quasi-linear diffusion theory using an empirical wave model of whistler mode chorus. We also estimated the required wave amplitudes that can explain the estimated loss time scales. It is shown that whistler mode chorus has a sufficient power to scatter the plasma sheet electrons, and the required wave amplitudes are roughly consistent with the CRRES statistical survey of the chorus wave amplitude. We suggest that the loss of plasma sheet electrons in the morning sector is mainly induced by pitch angle scattering by whistler mode chorus.

[1] By conducting a statistical survey of both wave and particle observations of the Galileo spacecraft, we reveal a close relationship between enhancements of whistler mode chorus and development of energetic electron anisotropies in the Jovian inner magnetosphere. We studied the spatial distribution of intense chorus emissions in the Jovian magnetosphere and identified 104 chorus enhancements by analyzing plasma wave data in the frequency range from 5.6 Hz to 20 kHz obtained from the entire Galileo mission in the inner Jovian magnetosphere during the time period from December 1995 to September 2003. Enhanced chorus emissions with integrated wave power over 10−9V2/m2 were observed around the magnetic equator in the radial distance range from 6 to 13 RJ. A survey of energetic particle data in the energy range of 29–42 keV reveals that all of the identified chorus events were observed in the region of pancake pitch angle distributions of energetic electrons. The ratio of the electron plasma frequency to the electron cyclotron frequency in this region is estimated to be in the range from 1 to 10 using empirical plasma and magnetic field models. This range is suitable for efficient whistler mode wave generation. The present study shows the complete survey of the correspondence between intense chorus and flux enhancement of energetic electrons having statistically significant pancake pitch angle distributions in the Jovian magnetosphere.

Using a model of particle acceleration and transport in solar flares, we investigate the height distribution of coronal electrons by focusing on the energy-dependent pitch-angle scattering. When pitch-angle scattering is not included, the peak heights of loop-top electrons are constant, regardless of their energy, owing to the continuous acceleration and compression of the electrons via shrinkage of magnetic loops. On the other hand, under pitch-angle scattering, the electron heights are energy dependent; intermediate energy electrons are at a higher altitude, whereas lower and higher energy electrons are at lower altitudes. This implies that the intermediate energy electrons are inhibited to follow the shrinking field lines to lower altitudes because pitch-angle scattering causes efficient precipitation of these electrons into the footpoint and their subsequent loss from the loop. This result is qualitatively consistent with the position of the above-the-loop-top hard X-ray (HXR) source that is located above coronal HXR loops emitted by lower energy electrons and microwaves emitted by higher energy electrons. Quantitative agreement with observations might be achieved by considering primary acceleration before the onset of loop shrinkage and additional pitch-angle scattering via wave-particle interactions., Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, accepted by ApJ

[1] We conducted high-speed imaging observations of flickering aurora at 100 Hz sampling rate using electron multiplying charge-coupled device in Alaska during 2009–2010 winter season. We detected various types of flickering aurora, including drifting and rotating features at a frequency below 15 Hz. We identified, for the first time, flickering stripes and some other unusual flickering events at frequency of higher than 20 Hz on the imaging observations. A dispersion relation derived from a statistical analysis of observed images is compared with the theoretical dispersion curve of O+ electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves. The frequencies and spatial scales calculated from a coherence/phase analysis based on an interference theory are consistent with the wave dispersion relation derived from the statistical analysis, suggesting that the obtained results are essentially consistent with the scenario that the interference of EMIC waves produces the observed dispersion relation of flickering aurora. Furthermore, flickering frequencies higher than 20 Hz are confirmed from our observations, which are higher than expected frequency of O+ EMIC waves at altitudes of several thousand kilometers. We therefore suggest that high-frequency waves such as He+ and H+ EMIC waves may also contribute to produce a significant fraction of flickering aurora.

[1] We developed a three-dimensional relativistic test particle code and used it to calculate the trajectories of relativistic electrons in the outer radiation belt. By applying time-varying magnetic field data calculated from the Tsyganenko model and using observed solar wind data and the Dst index, we examined the drift loss of relativistic electrons by magnetopause shadowing (MPS). Since other loss processes such as wave-particle interactions are not included in this simulation, the pure MPS effect can be discussed. A split was found in the outer radiation belt after the enhancement of the solar wind dynamic pressure. Isolated electrons outside of the split have a narrow pitch angle distribution around 90° and are confined to a narrow range of the L shell. We found that the existence of the isolated electrons depends on the large geomagnetic tilt angle. These findings indicate that the split can be seen during summer and winter after MPS occurs. We suggest that this split in the outer radiation belt during summer and winter is evidence that MPS actually causes the loss of the outer radiation belt.