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Comparison of Electron Loss Models in the Inner Magnetosphere During the 2013 St. Patrick's Day Geomagnetic Storm
Author(s) -
Ferradas C. P.,
Jordanova V. K.,
Reeves G. D.,
Larsen B. A.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1029/2019ja026649
Subject(s) - plasmasphere , geomagnetic storm , van allen probes , van allen radiation belt , electron , physics , hiss , magnetosphere , computational physics , pitch angle , storm , chorus , whistler , range (aeronautics) , atmospheric sciences , geophysics , earth's magnetic field , meteorology , magnetic field , nuclear physics , plasma , materials science , art , literature , quantum mechanics , composite material
Abstract Electrons with energies in the keV range play an important role in the dynamics of the inner magnetosphere. Therefore, accurately modeling electron fluxes in this region is of great interest. However, these calculations constitute a challenging task since the lifetimes of electrons that are available have limitations. In this study, we simulate electron fluxes in the energy range of 20 eV to 100 keV to assess how well different electron loss models can account for the observed electron fluxes during the Geospace Environment Modelling Challenge Event of the 2013 St. Patrick's Day storm. Three models (Case 1, Case 2, and Case 3) of electron lifetimes due to wave‐induced pitch angle scattering are used to compute the fluxes, which are compared with measurements from the Van Allen Probes. The three models consider electron losses due to interactions with whistler mode hiss waves inside the plasmasphere and with whistler mode chorus waves outside the plasmasphere. The Case 1 (historical) model produces excessive loss at low L shells before and after the storm, suggesting that it overestimates losses due to hiss during quiet times. During the storm main phase and early recovery all three models show good agreement with the observations, indicating that losses due to chorus during disturbed times are, in general, well accounted for by the models. Furthermore, the more recent Case 2 and Case 3 models show overall better agreement with the observed fluxes.