Ducted chorus waves cause sub‐relativistic and relativistic electron microbursts

Chen, Lunjin; Zhang, Xiao‐Jia; Artemyev, Anton; Angelopoulos, Vassilis; Tsai, Ethan; Wilkins, Colin; Horne, Richard B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0412-6407. 2022 Ducted chorus waves cause sub‐relativistic and relativistic electron microbursts. Geophysical Research Letters, 49 (5), e2021GL097559. 11, pp. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097559

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Official URL: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.102...

Abstract/Summary

During magnetospheric storms, radiation belt electrons are produced and then removed by collisions with the lower atmosphere on varying timescales. An efficient loss process is microbursts, strong, transient precipitation of electrons over a wide energy range, from tens of keV to sub-relativistic and relativistic energies (100s keV and above). However, the detailed generation mechanism of microbursts, especially over sub-relativistic and relativistic energies, remains unknown. Here we show that these energetic electron microbursts may be caused by ducted whistler-mode lower-band chorus waves. Using observations of equatorial chorus waves nearby low-altitude precipitation as well as data-driven simulations, we demonstrate that the observed microbursts are the result of resonant interaction of electrons with ducted chorus waves rather than nonducted ones. Revealing the physical mechanism behind the microbursts advances our understanding of radiation belt dynamics and its impact on the lower atmosphere and space weather.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097559
ISSN:	0094-8276
Additional Keywords:	microburst, chorus, wave-particle interaction, radiation belt, electron precipitation
Date made live:	01 Mar 2022 15:37 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532174

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097559

ISSN:

0094-8276

Additional Keywords:

microburst, chorus, wave-particle interaction, radiation belt, electron precipitation

Date made live:

01 Mar 2022 15:37 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532174