Energy-resolved detection of precipitating electrons of 30-100 keV by a
sounding rocket associated with dayside chorus waves
Abstract
Whistler mode chorus waves scatter magnetospheric electrons and cause
precipitation into the Earth’s atmosphere. Previous measurements showed
that nightside chorus waves are indeed responsible for diffuse/pulsating
aurora. Although chorus waves and electron precipitation have also been
detected on the dayside, their link has not been illustrated (or
demonstrated) in detail compared to the nightside observations.
Conventional low-altitude satellite observations do not well resolve the
energy range of 10–100 keV, hampering verification on resonance
condition with chorus waves. In this paper we report observations of
energetic electrons with energies of 30–100 keV that were made by the
electron sensor installed on the NASA’s sounding rocket RockSat-XN. It
was launched from the Andøya Space Center on the dayside (MLT
~ 11 h) at the L-value of ~ 7 on 13
January 2019. Transient electron precipitation was observed at
~ 50 keV with the duration of <100 s. A ground
station at Kola peninsula in Russia near the rocket’s footprint observed
intermittent emissions of whistler-mode waves simultaneously with the
rocket observations. The energy of precipitating electrons is consistent
with those derived from the quasi-linear theory of pitch angle
scattering by chorus waves through cyclotron resonance, assuming a
typical dayside magnetospheric electron density. Precise interaction
region is discussed based on the obtained energy spectrum below 100 keV.