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Detailed Reference Information
Tan et al. 2004
Tan, L.C., Fung, S.F. and Shao, X. (2004). Observation of magnetospheric relativistic electrons accelerated by Pc-5 ULF waves. Geophysical Research Letters 31: doi: 10.1029/2004GL019459. issn: 0094-8276.

Magnetic field, electric field and energetic electron measurements from CRRES, GOES-6 and -7 satellites are used to investigate the production of up to 2 MeV electron fluxes through a storm sudden commencement (SSC) event on August 27, 1991. Strong Pc-5 oscillations, whose electric field is mainly along the radial direction, and up to an order-of-magnitude enhancement in relativistic electron fluxes occurred simultaneously in a two-hour period. The enhanced electron fluxes are found to have a pancake-like pitch angle distribution, which is consistent with the fluxes being accelerated near the equatorial plane. The electron acceleration is shown to result from drift-resonant interactions with the toroidal-mode Pc-5 ULF waves having wave frequencies three times the electron drift frequency. In view of the L-variation of ULF wave frequencies, electron acceleration to relativistic energies becomes more effective in the geosynchronous region.

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Magnetospheric Physics, Energetic particles, trapped, Magnetospheric Physics, Magnetosphere—inner, Magnetospheric Physics, Solar wind/magnetosphere interactions, Space Plasma Physics, Charged particle motion and acceleration, Space Plasma Physics, Wave/particle interactions
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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