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Duration of Individual Relativistic Electron Microbursts: A Probe Into Their Scattering Mechanism
  • Mykhaylo Shumko,
  • Lauren W Blum,
  • Alexander B. Crew
Mykhaylo Shumko
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Lauren W Blum
University of Colorado Boulder
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Alexander B. Crew
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
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Abstract

We used the Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) to identify and quantify the duration of relativistic, >1 MeV, electron microbursts. A typical relativistic microburst has a ~100 millisecond (ms) duration, and the interquartile range of the duration distribution is 70-140 ms. We investigated trends in the microburst duration as a function of geomagnetic activity, L-shell, and magnetic local time (MLT). The clearest trend is in MLT: the median microburst duration doubles from 80 milliseconds at midnight to 160 milliseconds noon MLT. This trend is similar to the whistler mode chorus rising tone element duration trend, suggesting a possible relationship.
08 Sep 2021Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 48 issue 17. 10.1029/2021GL093879