Energetic Particles in the Inner Magnetosphere

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this project is to create a comprehensive model of the inner magnetosphere that includes the interactions of the plasmasphere, the ring current and the radiation belts. The model will be an enhancement of the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM) and the Radiation Belt Environment (RBE) model. The coupled model will include the processes by which particles are accelerated, the loss and transport processes and will include a self-consistent description of the electric and magnetic fields. The project will examine how the inner magnetosphere responds dynamically to the solar wind drivers and how the response to the external drivers is modulated by internal processes. Specific questions that will be addressed are: (1) what is the relationship between EMIC (electromagnetic ion-cyclotron)waves and the loss of ring current ions via particle precipitation, (2) what are the roles of radial transport, wave-particle interactions, and induced electric fields on the variations in relativistic electron fluxes in the radiation belt during different phases of geomagnetic storms, and (3) what determines the sometimes partial, sometimes complete filling of the slot region between the inner and outer radiation belts. Understanding the interactions between the solar wind drivers, the ring current and the radiation belts has important impacts on our understanding of space weather, including radiation hazards to space-based technological systems and geomagnetic effects on the ground.