Combined Scattering of Outer Radiation Belt Electrons by Simultaneously Occurring Chorus, Exohiss, and Magnetosonic Waves

Abstract

AbstractWe report a typical event that fast magnetosonic (MS) waves, exohiss, and two‐band chorus waves occurred simultaneously on the dayside observed by Van Allen Probes on 25 December 2013. By combining calculations of electron diffusion coefficients and 2‐D Fokker‐Planck diffusion simulations, we quantitatively analyze the combined scattering effect of multiple waves to demonstrate that the net impact of combined scattering does not simply depend on the wave intensity dominance of various plasma waves. Although the observed MS waves are most intense, the electron butterfly distribution is inhibited by exohiss and chorus, and electrons are considerably accelerated by combined scattering of MS and chorus waves. The simulated electron pitch angle distributions exhibit the variation trend consistent with the observations. Our results strongly suggest that competition and cooperation between resonant interactions with concurrently occurring magnetospheric waves need to be carefully treated in modeling and comprehending the radiation belt electron dynamics.