HR: 16:15h
AN: SH44C-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Backstreaming Electrons Associated With Solar Electron Bursts
AU: * Skoug, R M
EM: rskoug@lanl.gov
AF: Los Alamos National Laboratory, ISR-1, MS D466, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
AU: Steinberg, J T
EM: jsteinberg@lanl.gov
AF: Los Alamos National Laboratory, ISR-1, MS D466, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
AU: de Koning, C A
EM: Curt.A.deKoning@noaa.gov
AF: NOAA, Space Environment Center, Boulder, CO 80305, United States
AU: Gosling, J T
EM: jack.gosling@lasp.colorado.edu
AF: University of Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
AU: McComas, D J
EM: dmccomas@swri.edu
AF: Southwest Research Institute, Space Science and Engineering Division, San Antonio, TX 78228, United States
AB: Solar electron bursts are frequently observed in the ACE/SWEPAM suprathermal electron measurements at energies below 1.4 keV. A significant fraction of such events show backscattered electrons, beginning after the burst onset and traveling back towards the Sun along the magnetic field direction. Such backscattered particles imply a scattering mechanism beyond the spacecraft location. Some bursts also show backstreaming conic distributions, implying mirroring at magnetic field enhancements beyond the spacecraft. Here we present a study of these backstreaming particles during solar electron events. We examine the occurrence of backstreaming electrons and their relationship to other burst characteristics such as pitch angle width, duration, and energy range. We also investigate the time delay between burst onset and the appearance of backscattered electrons, including energy and pitch-angle dispersion. We examine the pitch angle distribution and energy dependence of backstreaming electrons, and consider possible origins of these electron distributions and their relationship to solar wind structure beyond the spacecraft.
DE: 2100 INTERPLANETARY PHYSICS
DE: 2114 Energetic particles (7514)
DE: 2134 Interplanetary magnetic fields
DE: 2164 Solar wind plasma
SC: SPA-Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting