• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.95.2-95.2
• /
• 2013

The Van Allen Probes were designed to study the Earth's radiation belts on various scales of space and time. The identical two spacecrafts going nearly eccentric orbits lap each other several times over the course of the mission and each probe carries five instrument suites to address the science objectives on the radiation belt. Since Van Allen Probes launched on August 30, 2012, the probes detecte several storm events up to now. To understand the particle acceleration and loss mechanism in the radiation belt, we first focus on the energetic electrons' dynamics detected by ECT (Energetic Particle, Composition, and Thermal Plasma Suite). ECT measures near-Earth space's radiation particles covering the full electron and ion spectra from ~ eV to 10's of MeV with sufficient energy resolution. In this paper, we present the preliminary results of the recent several storm events using electron data from ECT(MagEIS and REPT).

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.11-22
• /
• 2022

It is suggested that magnetosonic waves (also known as equatorial noise) can scatter radiation belt electrons in the Earth's magnetosphere. Therefore, it is important to understand the global distribution of these waves between the proton cyclotron frequency and the lower hybrid resonance frequency. In this study, we developed an empirical model for estimating the global distribution of magnetosonic wave amplitudes and wave normal angles. The model is based on the entire mission period (approximately 2012-2019) of observations of Van Allen Probes A and B as a function of the distance from the Earth (denoted by L^*), magnetic local time (MLT), magnetic latitude (λ), and geomagnetic activity (denoted by the Kp index). In previous studies the wave distribution inside and outside the plasmasphere were separately investigated and modeled. Our model, on the other hand, identifies the wave distribution along with the ambient plasma environment-defined by the ratio of the plasma frequency (f_pe) to the electron cyclotron frequency (f_ce)-without separately determining the wave distribution according to the plasmapause location. The model results show that, as Kp increases, the dayside wave amplitude in the equatorial region intensifies. It thereby propagates the intense region towards the wider MLT and inward to L^* < 4. In contrast, the f_pe/f_ce ratio decreases with increasing Kp for all regions. Nevertheless, the decreasing aspect differs between regions above and below L^* = 4. This finding implies that the particle energy and pitch angle that magnetosonic waves can effectively scatter vary depending on the locations and geomagnetic activity. Our model agrees with the statistically observed wave distribution and ambient plasma environment with a coefficient of determination of > 0.9. The model is valid in all MLTs, 2 ≤ L^* < 6, |λ| < 20°, and Kp ≤ 6.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.305-310
• /
• 2015

In this study, we examined a morningside Pi2 pulsation, with a non-substorm signature, that occurred in very quiet geomagnetic conditions (Kp = 0) at 05:38 UT on December 8, 2012, using data obtained by Van Allen Probes A and B (VAP-A and VAP-B, respectively) and at a ground station. Using 1 sec resolution vector magnetic field data, we measured the X-component of the pulsation from the Abu Simbel ground station (L = 1.07, LT = UT +2 hr, where LT represents local time) in Egypt. At the time of the Pi2 event, Abu Simbel and VAP-A (L = 3.3) were in the morning sector (07:38 LT and 07:59 MLT, respectively, where MLT represents magnetic local time), and VAP-B was in the postmidnight sector (04:18 MLT and L = 5.7). VAP-A and VAP-B observed oscillations in the compressional magnetic field component (Bz), which were in close agreement with the X-component measurements of the Pi2 pulsation that were made at Abu Simbel. The oscillations observed by the satellites and on the ground were in phase. Thus, we concluded that the observed morningside Pi2 pulsation was caused by the cavity resonance mode rather than by ionospheric current systems.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.42.2-43
• /
• 2016

Electrostatic fluctuations near upper-hybrid frequency, which are sometimes accompanied by multiple-harmonic electron cyclotron frequency bands above and below the upper-hybrid frequency, are common occurrences in the Earth's radiation belt, as revealed through the twin Van Allen Probe spacecraft. In the literature upper-hybrid emissions are used for estimating the background electron density, which in turn can be used to determine the plasmapause locations, but the role of energetic electrons in generating such fluctuations has not been discussed. The present paper carries out detailed analyses of data from the Waves instrument, which is part of the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) suite onboard the Van Allen Probes. Combined with theoretical calculation, it is demonstrated that the peak intensity associated with the upper-hybrid fluctuations is predominantly determined by tenuous but energetic electrons, and that denser and less energetic background electrons do not contribute much to the peak intensity. This finding shows that upper-hybrid fluctuations detected during quiet time are useful not only for the determination of the electron density, but also they contain information on the ambient energetic electron population as well.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.89.2-89.2
• /
• 2012

Radiation Belt, discovered by Van Allen in 1958, is a region energetic particles are trapped by the Earth's magnetic field. To measure charged particles and fields in the radiation belt, RBSP(Radiation Belt Storm Probes) mission will be launched in September 2012 by NASA. RBSP mission consists of two spacecraft having orbit from 600 km to 30,000 km and rotates the Earth twice a day. This mission is not designed just for scientific purpose but have operational function broadcasting real time data for space weather monitoring. As a program of KASI-NASA cooperation, KASI is constructing RBSP data receiving antenna that will be installed by April in Daejeon. With this antenna system, NASA can receive RBSP data for 24 hours and KASI also get space weather information to protect Korean GEO satellites. In this presentation, we will discuss how we use RBSP data for space weather forecasting. In addition, we will talk about science topics that can be achieved by RBSP mission. Especially we focus on the dusk-side electron precipitation that has been considered as a main mechanism of electron dropout events. We show the dusk-side precipitation is closely associated with radiation belt electron loss with NOAA-POES data, and why RBSP mission is important to understand radiation belt physics.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.93.1-93.1
• /
• 2013

The Earth's radiation belts consist of an inner belt and an outer belt, being separated by the slot region. It is well known that the variations of the inner edge of the outer belt and the location of the plasmapause (Lpp) are closely related to each other. Different waves exist inside and outside the plasmasphere, playing different roles in the particle dynamics. The plasmapause is well known to be influenced by solar wind conditions and geomagnetic disturbances. Therefore, it is important to precisely determine the location of the plasmapause and develop a prediction scheme. In this study, we identified the location of the plasmapause using the plasma density data from the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions During Substorms (THEMIS). The plasmapause is determined by requiring density gradient of a factor of 15 within L-change = 0.5. We statistically determined Lpp as a function of preceding geomagnetic indices. Also, we determined the relations between Lpp and preceding solar wind conditions by estimating correlation coefficients. These relations give us predicting models of Lpp as a function of preceding solar wind parameters and geomagnetic indices. As our database covers a period over the ascending phase from near-sunspot minimum, our statistical results differ somewhat from previous works that cover near-sunspot maximum. Finally, we give some comparative examples obtained from the Van Allen Probes data.