Precipitation of Auroral Electrons Accelerated at Very High Altitudes: Impact on the Ionosphere and a Possible Acceleration Mechanism

Abstract

AbstractThe Arase satellite observed the precipitation of monoenergetic electrons accelerated from a very high altitude above 32,000 km altitude on 16 September 2017. The event was selected in the period when the high‐angular resolution channel of the electron detector looked at pitch angles within ∼5° from the ambient magnetic field direction, and thereby was the first to examine the detailed distribution of electron flux near the energy‐dependent loss cone at such high altitudes. The potential energy below the satellite estimated from the observed energy‐dependence of the loss cone was consistent with the energy of the upgoing ion beams, indicating that ionospheric ions were accelerated by a lower‐altitude acceleration region. The accelerated electrons inside the loss cone carried a significant net field‐aligned current (FAC) density corresponding to ionospheric‐altitude FAC of up to ∼3μA/m2. Based on the anisotropy of the accelerated electrons, we estimated the height of the upper boundary of the acceleration region to be >∼2 RE above the satellite. The height distribution of the acceleration region below the satellite, estimated from the frequency of auroral kilometric radiation, was ∼4,000–13,000 km altitude, suggesting that the very‐high‐altitude acceleration region was separated from the lower acceleration region. Additionally, we observed time domain structure (TDS) electric fields on a subsecond time scale with a thin FAC indicated by magnetic deflections. Such a TDS may be generated by the formation of double layers in the magnetotail, and its potential drop could significantly contribute (∼40%–60%) to the parallel energization of precipitating auroral electrons.