Affiliation:
1. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles CA USA
2. Department of Astronomy and Space Science Chungbuk National University Cheongju South Korea
3. Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USA
4. May & June Solutions Seoul South Korea
Abstract
AbstractObservation of growing phase space density (PSD) peak in the outer electron radiation belt has been considered evidence for local wave‐driven acceleration as a primary cause of radiation belt enhancement. However, recent studies showed that strong substorm‐associated MeV electron injections can also cause significant radiation belt enhancements on fast timescales (∼10s min). Such rapid enhancements pose challenges for determining true spatial PSD profiles. To address this, we conduct a detailed spatiotemporal analysis of electron flux and PSD during an enhancement event, using Van Allen Probes data. Our analysis reveals rapid and intermittent flux enhancements. During these rapid enhancements, inbound spacecraft observed false PSD peaks, due to spacecraft's relatively slow movement. However, we identify time intervals of stable fluxes between enhancements, enabling us to determine quasi‐stationary PSD profiles with no noticeable peaks. This study provides new insights into accurate PSD analysis, critical for understanding the mechanisms underlying radiation belt enhancements.
Funder
Heliophysics Division
National Research Foundation of Korea
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Subject
General Earth and Planetary Sciences,Geophysics