Radial Transport, Local Acceleration, and Loss in the Radiation Belts: Integration of Theories and Observations (Invited)
Abstract
Although much is known about the dynamics of the radiation belts there are still many unanswered questions on the basic physical processes responsible for the storm-time variations of relativistic electrons. Two physical processes that are thought to be especially important are (i) drift-resonant wave-particle interactions with ULF perturbations, which may lead to radial diffusion, and (ii) cyclotron-resonant wave-particle interactions with VLF/ELF waves, which may lead to local energy and pitch-angle diffusion. While there is theoretical and observational support that both of these processes play important roles in radiation belt dynamics, their relative contributions are still not well understood quantitatively. Also, recent work suggests that magnetopause shadowing may play a larger role than previously expected, and the physical connections between changes in the radiation belts and different solar interplanetary drivers are not well understood. In this presentation I will briefly review published work on radial transport, local acceleration, and loss, and I will also present recent results (particularly for high-speed-stream storms) that emphasize the value of integrating theories and observations of the radiation belts, including comments on theories and observations of related electromagnetic fields and plasma populations in the Earth's inner magnetosphere.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFMSM32A..07C
- Keywords:
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- 2774 MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS Radiation belts;
- 2772 MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS Plasma waves and instabilities;
- 2730 MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS Magnetosphere: inner;
- 2720 MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS Energetic particles: trapped