Magnetopause Shadowing Signature During Relativistic Electron Flux Dropout Events

Details Magnetopause Shadowing Signature During Relativistic Electron Flux Dropout Events Magnetopause Shadowing Signature During Relativistic Electron Flux Dropout Events

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsm12b..06h&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SM12B-06

Physics

[2720] Magnetospheric Physics / Energetic Particles: Trapped, [2724] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetopause And Boundary Layers, [2774] Magnetospheric Physics / Radiation Belts, [2788] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetic Storms And Substorms

Scientific paper

The radiation belt electron flux level is maintained through a competition between multiple source and loss processes occurring within the magnetosphere and driven by the solar wind and by internal processes. While most of the research community's attention has focused on understanding electron flux enhancement, data from the geosynchronous regions has uncovered many unexplained rapid flux decreases. One possible loss mechanism for such flux dropout is drift loss of electrons to the magnetopause boundary. Using magnetospheric configurations predicted by a recent version of the Tsyganenko model (TS05), we found that ~80% of geosynchronous flux dropouts are on open drift paths, a signature of magnetopause shadowing (MPS). These MPS events have steeper flux decrease and slower flux recovery, stronger and sharper solar wind pressure drivers, and smaller southward IMF Bz compared to events without MPS signature. The local time distribution of MPS flux dropouts is concentrated on the night side where the magnetic field magnitude contour at the equator comes closest to the magnetopause location on the dayside. This work demonstrates the importance of accurate magnetic field modeling when determining the loss mechanism of radiation belt electrons during disturbed storm conditions, which was not available in previous studies. In this work, we utilize the newly developed TS07D model to compare the timing and quality of "openness" of the open drift paths versus flux decrease levels, and follow the trajectories of electrons through dynamic field configurations during storm intervals.

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