Resonant diffusion of radiation belt electrons by whistler-mode chorus

被引:198
作者
Horne, RB
Glauert, SA
Thorne, RM
机构
[1] British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge CB3 0ET, England
[2] Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Atmospher Sci, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1029/2003GL016963
中图分类号
P [天文学、地球科学];
学科分类号
07 ;
摘要
[1] We present the first relativistic electron pitch-angle and momentum diffusion rates for scattering by whistler-mode waves in the low density regieme. Diffusion rates are strongly dependent on the ratio between the electron plasma and gyro-frequencies omega(pe)/Omega(e). For conditions typical of storm times, diffusion rates at a few MeV increase by more than 3 orders of magnitude as omega(pe)/Omega(e) is reduced from 10 to 1.5. Diffusion rates are extremely sensitive to energy and become ineffective above 3 MeV. At energies below 100 keV pitch-angle diffusion approaches strong diffusion loss to the atmosphere, while loss at higher energies is much weaker. For storm-time whistler-mode chorus amplitudes near 100 pT, and omega(pe)/Omega(e) less than or equal to 2.5, acceleration timescales can be less than a day at 1 MeV. This indicates that chorus diffusion could provide an important mechanism for local acceleration during the recovery phase of storms outside the plasma-pause.
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页码:46 / 1
页数:4
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