Dynamics of radiation belt relativistic electrons in November 2004–January 2005

Abstract

The radiation belt dynamics during the extreme solar events in November 2004 and January 2005 is studied based on the measurements of relativistic electrons (with energies of 0.8–8 MeV) on the Express-A2 geostationary satellite and Meteor-3M polar satellite. New radiation belts of relativistic electrons in the space (L ∼ 3) between the stationary outer and inner belts were formed as a result of either superstorm (|Dst|max = 373 and 289 nT). The position of the maximums of these belts (Lmax = 2.9 and 3.1) coincides with the known dependence of Lmax on the magnetic storm Dst variation amplitude: |Dst|max = 2.75 × 104/Lmax4. In November–December the new belt very slowly (ΔL ∼ 0.1 per month) shifted toward the Earth. During the series of moderate (∼100 nT) magnetic storms that developed as a result of the extreme solar events in January 2005, the belt in the space shifted toward deeper L shells (L ∼ 2.5). The moderate January storms produced new belts with Lmax ≥ 4.