EFFECTS OF STARFISH ON GEOMAGNETICALLY TRAPPED PROTONS.
Abstract
Measurements of geomagnetically-trapped, 55 MeV protons made before and after the detonation of the STARFISH nuclear device revealed that at low altitudes the flux increased considerably after the STARFISH burst. Theoretical analyses presented in this report indicate that the flux change resulted from a redistribution of the existing trapped protons in the inner zone. Two processes were found to alter the proton distribution appropriately: (1) interaction of the protons with hydromagnetic waves produced by the burst and, (2) multiple reflections of the protons from a magnetic field inhomogeneity which propagates along magnetic field lines with the local hydromagnetic velocity. If the hydromagnetic velocity is determined from approximately ambient plasma densities, the latter mechanism (the Fermi process) gives the same altitude dependence of the increased flux as that obtained from the measurements. However, much higher plasma densities, or repeated traversals of the field line by the magnetic front, is required to explain the magnitude of the observed flux change. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0683341
Entities
People
- George H. Nakano
- Gerald T. Davidson
- John B. Cladis
- Rahde K. Jaggi
- William E. Francis
Organizations
- Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space