arXiv Open Access 2024

Relativistic and Ultra-Relativistic Electron Bursts in Earth's Magnetotail Observed by Low-Altitude Satellites

Xiao-Jia Zhang Anton V. Artemyev Xinlin Li Harry Arnold Vassilis Angelopoulos +5 lainnya

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Abstrak

Earth's magnetotail, a night-side region characterized by stretched magnetic field lines and strong plasma currents, is the primary site for the release of magnetic field energy and its transformation into plasma heating and kinetic energy plus charged particle acceleration during magnetic reconnection. In this study, we demonstrate that the efficiency of this acceleration can be sufficiently high to produce populations of relativistic and ultra-relativistic electrons, with energies up to several MeV, which exceeds all previous theoretical and simulation estimates. Using data from the low altitude ELFIN and CIRBE CubeSats, we show multiple events of relativistic electron bursts within the magnetotail, far poleward of the outer radiation belt. These bursts are characterized by power-law energy spectra and can be detected during even moderate substorms.

Topik & Kata Kunci

physics.space-ph physics.plasm-ph

Penulis (10)

Xiao-Jia Zhang

Anton V. Artemyev

Xinlin Li

Harry Arnold

Vassilis Angelopoulos

Drew L. Turner

Mykhaylo Shumko

Andrei Runov

Yang Mei

Zheng Xiang

Format Sitasi

APA MLA BibTeX

Zhang, X., Artemyev, A.V., Li, X., Arnold, H., Angelopoulos, V., Turner, D.L. et al. (2024). Relativistic and Ultra-Relativistic Electron Bursts in Earth's Magnetotail Observed by Low-Altitude Satellites. https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.17299

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Informasi Jurnal

Tahun Terbit: 2024
Bahasa: en
Sumber Database: arXiv
Akses: Open Access ✓