Key factors determining nightside energetic electron losses driven by
whistler-mode waves
Abstract
Energetic electron losses by pitch-angle scattering and precipitation to
the atmosphere from the radiation belts are controlled, to a great
extent, by resonant wave particle interactions with whistler-mode waves.
The efficacy of such precipitation is primarily controlled by wave
intensity, although its relative importance, compared to other wave and
plasma parameters, remains unclear. Precipitation spectra from the
low-altitude, polar-orbiting ELFIN mission have previously been
demonstrated to be consistent with energetic precipitation modeling
derived from empirical models of field-aligned wave power across a
wide-swath of local-time sectors. However, such modeling could not
explain the intense, relativistic electron precipitation observed on the
nightside. Therefore, this study aims to additionally consider the
contributions of three modifications – wave obliquity, frequency
spectrum, and local plasma density – to explain this discrepancy on the
nightside. By incorporating these effects into both test particle
simulations and quasi-linear diffusion modeling, we find that realistic
implementations of each individual modification result in only slight
changes to the electron precipitation spectrum. However, these
modifications, when combined, enable more accurate modeling of
ELFIN-observed spectra. In particular, a significant reduction in plasma
density enables lower frequency waves, oblique, or even quasi-field
aligned waves to resonate with near $\sim1$ MeV
electrons closer to the equator. We demonstrate that the levels of
modification required to accurately reproduce the nightside spectra of
whistler-mode wave-driven relativistic electron precipitation match
empirical expectations, and should therefore be included in future
radiation belt modeling.