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A Wave Model and Diffusion Coefficients for Plasmaspheric Hiss Parameterized by Plasmapause Location
  • David M. Malaspina,
  • Hui Zhu,
  • Alexander Yurievich Drozdov
David M. Malaspina
University of Colorado Boulder

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Hui Zhu
University of Texas at Dallas
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Alexander Yurievich Drozdov
University of California Los Angeles
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Abstract

The scattering of electrons via plasmaspheric hiss whistler-mode plasma waves has profound consequences for the dynamics of electrons in the inner terrestrial magnetosphere, including the radiation belts. Consequently, simulations of inner magnetospheric electron dynamics incorporate hiss wave models, though these models are often parameterized by quantities convenient to describe particle populations (e.g. L-shell). However, recent studies have revealed that the spatial distribution of plasmaspheric hiss wave power is only weakly dependent on L-shell. Instead, it is dictated by the density structure of the plasmasphere (including radial extent and azimuthal structure). In this work, we create a plasmaspheric hiss wave model, and corresponding particle diffusion coefficients, parameterized by plasmapause location instead of L-shell, in order to quantify the importance of including plasmapause-organization of hiss waves for inner magnetosphere models. Significant differences in electron scattering lifetimes are found when comparing L-shell parameterized hiss and plasmapause-parameterized hiss wave models on the timescales of days. This implies that plasmapause-parameterization of hiss waves may be important for modeling specific geomagnetic events.
Feb 2020Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics volume 125 issue 2. 10.1029/2019JA027415