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  • Electron Precipitation Obse...
    Capannolo, L.; Li, W.; Ma, Q.; Qin, M.; Shen, X.‐C.; Angelopoulos, V.; Artemyev, A.; Zhang, X.‐J.; Hanzelka, M.

    Geophysical research letters, 16 November 2023, Letnik: 50, Številka: 21
    Journal Article

    Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves can drive radiation belt depletion and Low‐Earth Orbit satellites can detect the resulting electron and proton precipitation. The ELFIN (Electron Losses and Fields InvestigatioN) CubeSats provide an excellent opportunity to study the properties of EMIC‐driven electron precipitation with much higher energy and pitch‐angle resolution than previously allowed. We collect EMIC‐driven electron precipitation events from ELFIN observations and use POES (Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites) to search for 10s–100s keV proton precipitation nearby as a proxy of EMIC wave activity. Electron precipitation mainly occurs on localized radial scales (∼0.3 L), over 15–24 MLT and 5–8 L shells, stronger at ∼MeV energies and weaker down to ∼100–200 keV. Additionally, the observed loss cone pitch‐angle distribution agrees with quasilinear predictions at ≳250 keV (more filled loss cone with increasing energy), while additional mechanisms are needed to explain the observed low‐energy precipitation. Plain Language Summary Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) emissions are a type of plasma wave that can be excited in the near‐Earth environment and interact with energetic electrons in the Earth's radiation belts. Through these wave‐particle interactions, electrons can be pushed into the loss cone and lost into the Earth's atmosphere (electron precipitation), where they deposit their energy by interacting with neutral atoms and cold charged particles. EMIC‐driven electron precipitation still needs to be fully characterized and understood. In this work, we use data from the Electron Losses and Fields InvestigatioN (ELFIN) CubeSats, which provide electron fluxes at high energy and pitch‐angle (look direction) resolution at ∼450 km of altitude. Our analysis reveals that precipitation is most efficient for ∼MeV electrons and is accompanied by weaker low‐energy precipitation down to ∼100–200 keV. Given the ELFIN CubeSats spin, we can also study the distribution of the precipitating electrons along different look directions (pitch‐angles). We find that the loss cone shape is well‐reproduced by quasilinear predictions of EMIC‐electron interactions at higher energies (≳250 keV), while quasilinear calculations underestimate the observed low‐energy precipitation. Key Points Energetic electron precipitation is observed by Electron Losses and Fields InvestigatioN nearby proton precipitation (a proxy for Electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves) primarily over 15–24 MLT Precipitation efficiency increases as a function of energy: weak ∼100s keV precipitation is concurrent with intense ∼MeV precipitation The observed pitch‐angle distribution shows a loss cone filling up with energy, similar to the pitch‐angle profiles from quasilinear theory