Ring Current Electrons in HEIDI and Their Relative Total Energy Content

The Hot Electron and Ion Drift Integrator (HEIDI) inner magnetospheric drift physics model has always had the capability of solving for the phase space density of keV-energy electrons. This aspect of the code, however, has not been utilized, largely because the results would have been totally unrealistic without the additional inclusion of VLF-chorus-induced pitch-angle scattering. Using the scattering rates of Chen et al. [JGR, 2005] for chorus wave interactions with keV electrons, new electron-only pitch-angle diffusion coefficients have been incorporated into HEIDI, allowing for an accurate solution of plasma sheet electron injection, transport, and loss. Initial results of electron transport calculations within HEIDI are presented and discussed. Of particular interest is the spatial configuration of the electron pressure within the inner magnetosphere and the total energy content of the electrons relative to the hot ions of the ring current. A set of idealized input scenarios are presented as well as a few real-event scenarios. Without the Chen et al. coefficients, the electron total energy content is nearly as large as the ion total energy content. With these losses, the ion energy content is five to ten times larger than the electron energy content.