Formation of energetic electron butterfly distributions by magnetosonic waves via Landau resonance

Craig A Kletzing; Jinxing Li; Lunjin Chen; Binbin Ni; William S Kurth; Qianli Ma; George B Hospodarsky; Lun Xie; Zuyin Pu; Suiyan Fu; Richard M Thorne; Jacob Bortnik; Wen Li; Daniel N Baker; Joseph F Fennell; Geoffrey D Reeves; Harlan E Spence; Herbert O Funsten; Danny Summers

doi:10.1002/2016GL067853

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Formation of energetic electron butterfly distributions by magnetosonic waves via Landau resonance

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Formation of energetic electron butterfly distributions by magnetosonic waves via Landau resonance

Craig A Kletzing, Jinxing Li, Lunjin Chen, Binbin Ni, William S Kurth, Qianli Ma, George B Hospodarsky, Lun Xie, Zuyin Pu, Suiyan Fu, …

Geophysical research letters, Vol.43(7), pp.3009-3016

04/16/2016

DOI: 10.1002/2016GL067853

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Abstract

Radiation belt electrons can exhibit different types of pitch angle distributions in response to various magnetospheric processes. Butterfly distributions, characterized by flux minima at pitch angles around 90°, are broadly observed in both the outer and inner belts and the slot region. Butterfly distributions close to the outer magnetospheric boundary have been attributed to drift shell splitting and losses to the magnetopause. However, their occurrence in the inner belt and the slot region has hitherto not been resolved. By analyzing the particle and wave data collected by the Van Allen Probes during a geomagnetic storm, we combine test particle calculations and Fokker-Planck simulations to reveal that scattering by equatorial magnetosonic waves is a significant cause for the formation of energetic electron butterfly distributions in the inner magnetosphere. Another event shows that a large-amplitude magnetosonic wave in the outer belt can create electron butterfly distributions in just a few minutes.

Details

Title: Subtitle: Formation of energetic electron butterfly distributions by magnetosonic waves via Landau resonance
Creators: Craig A Kletzing - University of Iowa
Jinxing Li - Peking University
Lunjin Chen - University of Texas at Dallas
Binbin Ni - Wuhan University
William S Kurth - University of Iowa
Qianli Ma - University of California, Los Angeles
George B Hospodarsky - University of Iowa
Lun Xie - Peking University
Zuyin Pu - Peking University
Suiyan Fu - Peking University
Richard M Thorne - University of California, Los Angeles
Jacob Bortnik - University of California, Los Angeles
Wen Li - University of California, Los Angeles
Daniel N Baker - University of Colorado Boulder
Joseph F Fennell - The Aerospace Corporation
Geoffrey D Reeves - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Harlan E Spence - University of New Hampshire
Herbert O Funsten - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Danny Summers - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Geophysical research letters, Vol.43(7), pp.3009-3016
DOI: 10.1002/2016GL067853
ISSN: 0094-8276
eISSN: 1944-8007
Grant note: DOI: 10.13039/501100001809, name: NSFC, award: 41374166, 41274167, 41204120, 41474141; name: Chinese Key Research Project, award: 2011CB811404; name: JHU/APL, award: 967399, 921647; name: EMFISIS, award: 1001057397:01; name: ECT, award: 13-041; DOI: 10.13039/100000104, name: NASA, award: NAS5-01072, NNX13AI61G, NNX14AN85G; name: NSF Geospace Environment Modeling, award: AGS-1103064; name: Discovery Grant of the Nature Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Language: English
Date published: 04/16/2016
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9984199677502771

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