On the Source and Loss of Inner Belt Electrons

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

This project is a follow-on to successful NSF funded programs supporting the Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment (CSSWE) CubeSat. The CubeSat took measurements of energetic electrons in the Earth's radiation belts. Understanding the populations of inner radiation belt electrons is important to national security and commercial interests. The energetic electrons can damage or destroy space craft functioning. The resulting scientific results from the project will lead to improvement of predictive space weather models. This fits directly into the goals of the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan, released in 2015. The proposed work will fund a female graduate student in STEM and maximize the science return from the NSF funded CSSWE CubeSat. The CSSWE CubeSat recently discovered that Cosmic Ray Albedo Neutron Decay (CRAND) produces a population of electrons in the inner radiation belt and contributes to electron populations elsewhere in the radiation belts. The proposed research will determine the relative contribution of CRAND electrons in the inner belt, the solar cycle dependence of the CRAND population, and the pitch angle scattering rate and lifetime of trapped inner belt electrons. Electron observations from the CSSWE will be analyzed along with DEMETER/IDP and SAMPEX/PET satellite data. Established CRAND models incorporating diffusive small-angle atmospheric scattering and non-diffusive wide-angle scattering will be generated and fit to the satellite data. The proposed work is unique in that it seeks to understand the precipitation loss of inner radiation belt electrons including the contribution from the CRAND produced population. The CRAND population was not known to be significant before the new results from CSSWE published within the last few years. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.