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Why Atmospheric Backscatter Is Important in the Formation of Electron Precipitation in the Diffuse Aurora
Author(s) -
Khazanov George V.,
Chen Margaret W.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1029/2021ja029211
Subject(s) - magnetosphere , electron precipitation , electron , physics , backscatter (email) , ionosphere , computational physics , scattering , geophysics , atmospheric sciences , plasma , optics , nuclear physics , telecommunications , computer science , wireless
In addition to wave particle scattering in the magnetosphere, atmospheric backscatter of magnetospheric electrons is an important process that contributes to the formation of the precipitated electrons in the region of diffuse aurora. Two magnetically conjugate regions are involved in a complex magnetosphere‐ionosphere (MI) particle and energy interplay. Based on synthesizing previous theoretical/modeling studies and experimental evidence, we demonstrate the need for improving the quantification of magnetospheric electrons backscatter processes that can affect inner magnetospheric electrodynamics, transport and loss in a way that is not easily predicted. We discuss how these complex and energy‐dependent MI coupled processes can be treated in magnetospheric modeling.