Pitch Angle Scattering of Energetic Particles by Waves Generated from a Rotating Magnetic Field Source

Injection of whistler waves into Earth's inner radiation belt to enhance precipitation of energetic electrons has been an active research area, and is referred to as RB Remediation (RBR). Most mechanisms of pitch angle scattering of energetic particles are based on gyro-resonant wave-particle interaction. Recent experiments and simulations show that Rotating Magnetic Field (RMF) antennas in plasmas can be efficient radiation sources of MHD and whistler waves. In experiments conducted in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA, poly-phased current loops drove the RMF antenna. These experiments, as well as simulations show that 75-85% of the radiation generated by the RMF antenna is in guided propagation. The whistler and MHD waves have non-local magnetic field gradients in the transverse direction and these provide ways to break the adiabatic invariants of electrons and precipitate them via a non-resonant scattering. In this paper simulations of non-resonant pitch angle scattering of energetic particles by waves generated by RMF sources are presented. Three-dimensional EMHD simulations are used to model whistlers and the resultant 3D electromagnetic fields are used in particle tracing codes to study pitch angle scattering. The simulations are carried out for a wide range of magnetic fields produced by RMF sources, including fields much larger than the ambient magnetic field in space plasma environments. This work was sponsored by ONR MURI Grant 5-28828