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Measurement of inner radiation belt electrons with kinetic energy above 1 MeV
Author(s) -
Selesnick R. S.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1002/2015ja021387
Subject(s) - electron , van allen radiation belt , kinetic energy , physics , proton , atomic physics , range (aeronautics) , radiation , spectral line , extrapolation , van allen probes , nuclear physics , magnetosphere , plasma , materials science , astronomy , composite material , mathematical analysis , mathematics , quantum mechanics
Abstract Data from the Proton‐Electron Telescope on the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) satellite, taken during 1992–2009, are analyzed for evidence of inner radiation belt electrons with kinetic energy E > 1 MeV. It is found that most of the data from a detector combination with a nominal energy threshold of 1 MeV were, in fact, caused by a chance coincidence response to lower energy electrons or high‐energy protons. In particular, there was no detection of inner belt or slot region electrons above 1 MeV following the 2003 Halloween storm injection, though they may have been present. However, by restricting data to a less‐stable, low‐altitude trapping region, a persistent presence of inner belt electrons in the energy range 1 to 1.6 MeV is demonstrated. Their soft, exponential energy spectra are consistent with extrapolation of lower energy measurements.