Open AccessControlled precipitation of radiation belt electrons
Author(s) -
Inan U. S.,
Bell T. F.,
Bortnik J.,
Albert J. M.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2002ja009580
Subject(s) - van allen radiation belt , electron precipitation , electron , physics , radiation , whistler , diffusion , range (aeronautics) , computational physics , plasmasphere , atomic physics , effective radiated power , very low frequency , geophysics , optics , magnetosphere , plasma , materials science , nuclear physics , composite material , thermodynamics , astronomy
First‐order estimates indicate that the lifetime of energetic (a few MeV) electrons in the inner radiation belts (e.g., near L = 2) may be significantly reduced by in situ injection of whistler mode waves at radiated power levels of a few kW at frequencies of a few kHz. Our estimates are based on previously published results concerning the effect on the electron lifetimes of VLF signals from ground‐based VLF transmitters operating in the 17–23 kHz range. Waves at lower frequencies (a few kHz) can drive diffusion rates that are higher by a factor of as much as ∼30 and can also be efficiently stored in the magnetospheric cavity, resulting in additional effective enhancement of wave power density of a factor of ∼16. This wave power enhancement is also expected to enhance the MeV electron diffusion rates.