Evolution and Energization of Energetic Electrons in the Inner Magnetosphere
Abstract
A review is presented of what we know about the evolution and energization of energetic electrons in the inner magneto- sphere. We emphasize what we have learned since the review by Friedel et al. (2002) with the primary result being a greater focus on local acceleration processes and significant new evidence that points to processes that are acting in the region between GPS and geosynchronous altitudes. We use as an example the magnetosphere's energetic electron responses to storms that occurred in the 16-25 July 2004 period. They had increasing magnitude in terms of minimum DST of-80,-101 ,-148, and -197 nT. We examined the penetration and enhancements of the electrons as a function of L. We found that the smallest storms did not cause relativistic electron enhancements for L < 6.5, but did cause enhancements in the "source" populations at > 130 and >230 keV down to L ~ 3.0. The results indicate that the electron fluxes observed at Cluster may be directly linked to the rapid response of electrons at low L observed by HE03, and could have been the source for the <1 MeV fluxes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 15, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA494516
Entities
People
- James L. Roeder
- Joseph F. Fennell
Organizations
- The Aerospace Corporation