HR: 1330h
AN: SM23C-01    [Abstracts]
TI: Electron Precipitation Bands: Possible Causes, Expectations, and Observations
AU: * OBrien, T P
EM: paul.obrien@aero.org
AF: The Aerospace Corporation, M2-260 PO Box 92957, Los Angeles, CA 90009-2957 United States
AU: Green, J C
EM: janet.c.green@lasp.colorado.edu
AF: University of Colorado, LASP, 1234 Innovation Drive, Boulder, CO 80305 United States
AU: Mazur, J E
EM: joseph.e.mazur@aero.org
AF: The Aerospace Corporation, M2-260 PO Box 92957, Los Angeles, CA 90009-2957 United States
AU: Looper, M D
EM: Mark.D.Looper@aero.org
AF: The Aerospace Corporation, M2-260 PO Box 92957, Los Angeles, CA 90009-2957 United States
AB: We examine electron precipitation bands: spikes of energetic electron precipitation extending over 1/3-L in low altitude observations by SAMPEX and POES. We demonstrate that MeV precipitation bands occur over a wide range of geomagnetic activity and quiescence, with a typical occurrence probability of about 12% over the L range from 5-7 on the night side, with emphasis on the midnight sector. We also demonstrate that though common, bands do not result in a substantial depletion of the trapped MeV electron population. We consider four possible causes for the precipitation: ECH, EMIC, and Chorus waves as well as field-line-curvature scattering. We use the L, MLT, and energy dependence of the bands as well as the simultaneous proton response to evaluate each of these four possible causes.
DE: 2716 Energetic particles, precipitating
DE: 2720 Energetic particles, trapped
DE: 2730 Magnetosphere--inner
DE: 2764 Plasma sheet
DE: 2768 Plasmasphere
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly