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Correlated observations linking loss of energetic protons to EMIC waves

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Abstract

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) emission is an efficient mechanism for scattering loss of energetic protons. Here, we report an event that provides both in-situ observation of energetic proton differential fluxes in the inner magnetosphere and precipitation of protons at ionospheric altitudes. During the 7–8 September 2015 geomagnetic storm the Van Allen Probes observed strong EMIC waves around L = 5 and a distinct decrement in fluxes of tens of keV protons around pitch angles 0°–45°. Meanwhile, precipitating protons at ionospheric altitudes were found to significantly enhanced (by several orders of magnitude), measured by NOAA 18 and 19 when they magnetically linked to the Van Allen Probe-A. By solving the Fokker-Planck diffusion equation, we show that EMIC waves can efficiently produce loss of energetic protons within about 2 h in the pitch angle range of ∼ 0°–45°, comparable to the satellite observations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physics and Electronic Sciences, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha, 410114, China

    Chang Yang, ZongQiang Wang, FuLiang Xiao, Sai Zhang, YiHua He, Si Liu & QingHua Zhou

  2. Sate Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Chang Yang

  3. Planetary Environmental and Astrobiological Research Laboratory (PEARL), School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, 519082, China

    ZhaoGuo He

  4. College of Meteorology and Oceanography, National University of Defense Technology, Nanjing, 211101, China

    YanQiong Xie

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  1. Chang Yang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to FuLiang Xiao or ZhaoGuo He.

Additional information

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41774194, 41974212 and 42074198) and the Specialized Research Fund for State Key Laboratories. The authors acknowledge the University of Iowa as the source for the EMFISIS data. We acknowledge Herb Funsten, Ruth Skoug, Brian Larsen and Geoff Reeves for the use of HOPE data. We thank NOAA for the access to the POES data. Data can be found at the following websites: http://emfisis.physics.uiowa.edu/Flight/ (EMFISIS), http://www.RBSP-ect.lanl.gov/ (ECT) and https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/satellite/poes/ (NOAA).

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Yang, C., Wang, Z., Xiao, F. et al. Correlated observations linking loss of energetic protons to EMIC waves. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 65, 131–138 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-021-1882-x

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