Injection of relativistic electrons into the internal magnetosphere during magnetic storms: Connection with substorms

Abstract

The connection between rapid increases in the intensity of electrons with energies >0.3 MeV and magnetospheric substorms was studied for the first time by measurements of energetic electrons on the low-orbit SERVIS-1 satellite. In addition to the well-known process of radial diffusion detected at the recovery phase, the increases during a period of time no longer than 1.5 h at the main phase of six magnetic storms in a channel of 0.3–1.7 MeV (in three of them, in a channel of 1.7–3.4 MeV) were measured. An analysis of auroral zone magnetograms demonstrated that the increases occurred at the instant of magnetospheric substorm activation. A conclusion is made that the increases are caused by the radial injection of electrons by a pulse electric field induced during substorm activations. Pulse injections are shown to be one of the main mechanisms of electron radiation belt completion in the inner magnetosphere and, in combination with moderate radial diffusion, to be responsible for the appearance of large fluxes of energetic electrons (“killers”) in the magnetosphere after magnetic storms.