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The Characteristics of Three‐Belt Structure of Sub‐MeV Electrons in the Radiation Belts
Author(s) -
Li YuXuan,
Yue Chao,
Hao YiXin,
Zong QiuGang,
Zhou XuZhi,
Fu SuiYan,
Chen XingRan,
Zhao XingXin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1029/2021ja029385
Subject(s) - van allen radiation belt , electron , physics , atomic physics , radiation , van allen probes , flux (metallurgy) , electron spectrometer , nuclear physics , magnetosphere , plasma , chemistry , organic chemistry , cathode ray
After the launch of Van Allen Probes, the three‐belt structures of ultra‐relativistic electrons are discovered. In this study, we investigate the three‐belt structures of sub‐MeV electrons, which may form under different mechanism compared with those of ultra‐relativistic electrons and are worth in‐depth analysis. Based on the differential flux data from Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer onboard Radiation Belt Storm Probes‐B satellite, we find 54 events, in which two comparable peaks of sub‐MeV electron fluxes and a slot appear where there should be the outer radiation belt. Through the statistical analysis, the three‐belt structures of sub‐MeV electrons are found to be closely related to symmetric H‐component (SYM‐H) and Auroral Electrojet (AE) indices. The 2‐day SYM‐H minimum and AE maximum before the event have a linear trend with the remnant belt and the “second slot” locations. The L‐ values of the remnant belt and the “second slot” of different energy electrons decrease as energy increases in general and show interesting characteristics during their temporal evolution. Moreover, the lifetime of the remnant belt of different energy electrons increases as energy increases. We find similarities and differences between sub‐MeV and ultra‐relativistic electrons three‐belt events, which provides a new perspective in three‐belt structure study.