Van Allen Probes observations and test particle simulations of radiation belt wave-particle interactions during periods of intense wave activity

Recent observations of trapped radiation belt electrons suggest that increased fluxes of high energy electrons during geomagnetically active periods can be attributed to local acceleration and scattering through wave-particle interactions. We present case studies of Van Allen Probes EFW high time resolution electric and magnetic field waveforms and filterbank (wave packet counting) data during geomagnetically active periods to assess the nature of the wave-particle interactions responsible for the rapid heating of trapped particle populations. We present these observations with large scale test particle simulations of oblique whistler-mode wave-particle interactions. These simulations resolve the gyro- and bounce-motion of large distributions of test particles through multiple resonant interactions with large amplitude oblique waves, and are used to predict the evolution of trapped particle distributions through interaction with large amplitude wave fields. We will discuss the results and limitations of these simulations in the context of the waves and particle distributions observed by the twin Van Allen Probes.