The principal role of chorus ducting for night-side relativistic
electron precipitation
Abstract
Night-side chorus waves are often observed during plasma sheet
injections, typically confined around the equator and thus potentially
responsible for precipitation of $\lesssim 100 keV$
electrons. However, recent low-altitude observations have revealed the
critical role of chorus waves in scattering relativistic electrons on
the night-side. This study presents a night-side relativistic electron
precipitation event induced by chorus waves at the strong diffusion
regime, as observed by the ELFIN CubeSats. Through event-based modeling
of wave propagation under ducted or unducted regimes, we show that a
density duct is essential for guiding chorus waves to high latitudes
with minimal damping, thus enabling the strong night-side relativistic
electron precipitation. These findings underline both the existence and
the important role of density ducts in facilitating night-side
relativistic electron precipitation.