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Survey of radiation belt energetic electron pitch angle distributions based on the Van Allen Probes MagEIS measurements [electronic resource] : Electron Pitch Angle Distributions

Published
Washington, D.C. : National Aeronautics and Space Administration Announcement, 2016.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Physical Description
pages 1,078-1,090 : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators
Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Announcement, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
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Summary
A statistical survey of electron pitch angle distributions (PADs) is performed based on the pitch angle-resolved flux observations from the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) instrument on board the Van Allen Probes during the period from 1 October 2012 to 1 May 2015. By fitting the measured PADs to a sinnα form, where α is the local pitch angle and n is the power law index, we investigate the dependence of PADs on electron kinetic energy, magnetic local time (MLT), the geomagnetic Kp index, and L shell. The difference in electron PADs between the inner and outer belt is distinct. In the outer belt, the common averaged n values are less than 1.5, except for large values of the Kp index and high electron energies. The averaged n values vary considerably with MLT, with a peak in the afternoon sector and an increase with increasing L shell. In the inner belt, the averaged n values are much larger, with a common value greater than 2. The PADs show a slight dependence on MLT, with a weak maximum at noon. A distinct region with steep PADs lies in the outer edge of the inner belt where the electron flux is relatively low. The distance between the inner and outer belt and the intensity of the geomagnetic activity together determine the variation of PADs in the inner belt. Finally, besides being dependent on electron energy, magnetic activity, and L shell, the results show a clear dependence on MLT, with higher n values on the dayside.
Report Numbers
E 1.99:la-ur--15-28231
la-ur--15-28231
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Note
Published through SciTech Connect.
12/30/2016.
"la-ur--15-28231"
Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics 121 2 ISSN 2169-9380 AM
Run Shi; Danny Summers; Binbin Ni; Joseph F. Fennell; J. Bernard Blake; Harlan E. Spence; Geoffrey D. Reeves.
Funding Information
AC52-06NA25396
View MARC record | catkey: 23495295