Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007georl..3424205s&link_type=abstract
Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 34, Issue 24, CiteID L24205
Physics
Plasma Physics
25
Magnetospheric Physics: Planetary Magnetospheres (5443, 5737, 6033), Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetosphere: Inner, Magnetospheric Physics: Radiation Belts, Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects: Jupiter, Space Plasma Physics: Particle Acceleration
Scientific paper
We present a new particle acceleration mechanism called ultra-relativistic acceleration (URA). URA comprises electron energization due to a special form of nonlinear phase trapping by a coherent whistler-mode wave for electrons with an initial Lorentz factor γ 0 satisfying γ 0 > Ω EQ /ω ω is the wave frequency and Ω EQ is the electron cyclotron frequency at the equator of an assumed dipole magnetic field. Radiation belt electrons that encounter a combination of relativistic turning acceleration (RTA) followed by multiple URA interactions can undergo significant energy increase. Under ideal conditions, at Earth (L = 4) several-hundred-keV electrons can be energized to several MeV within a few seconds, while at Jupiter (L = 8), several-hundred-keV electrons can be energized by tens of MeV in a few tens of seconds. URA can play a prominent role in generating the several-MeV electrons observed in Earth's outer zone and the tens-of-MeV electrons observed in Jupiter's magnetosphere. More generally, we expect URA to be an effective electron energization mechanism in cosmic plasma environments that contain a magnetic mirror geometry and electromagnetic whistler-mode emissions.
Omura Yoshiharu
Summers Danny
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