Analysis of the low-altitude proton flux asymmetry: methodology

Abstract

Existing East–West asymmetry models of the trapped proton fluxes at low altitudes depend on the local magnetic dip angle and a density scale height derived from atmospheric models. We propose an alternative approach which maps the directional flux over a drift shell ( B m, L) in terms of the local pitch and azimuthal angles α and β, where β is defined in the local mirror plane as the angle between the proton arrival direction and the surface normal to the drift shell. This approach has the advantage that it only depends on drift shell parameters and does not involve an atmosphere model. A semi-empirical model based on the new methodology is able to reproduce the angular distribution of a set of SAMPEX/PET proton flux measurements. Guidelines are proposed for spacecraft missions and data analysis procedures that are intended to be used for the building of new trapped radiation environment models.