Method for direct detection of pitch angle scattering of energetic electrons caused by whistler mode chorus emissions

Abstract

AbstractThe Wave‐Particle Interaction Analyzer (WPIA), a new instrument proposed by Fukuhara et al. (2009), measures the relative phase angle between the wave magnetic field vector and the velocity vector of each particle and calculates the energy exchange from waves to particles. In this study, we expand its applicability by proposing a method of using the WPIA to directly detect pitch angle scattering of resonant particles by plasma waves by calculating the g values. The g value is defined as the accumulation value of the Lorentz force acting on each particle and indicates the lost momentum of waves. We apply the proposed method to the results of a one‐dimensional electron hybrid simulation reproducing the generation of whistler mode chorus emissions around the magnetic equator. Using the wave and particle data obtained at fixed observation points assumed in the simulation system, we conduct a pseudo‐observation of the simulation result using the WPIA and analyze the g values. Our analysis yielded significant values indicating the strong pitch angle scattering for electrons in the kinetic energy and pitch angle ranges satisfying the cyclotron resonance condition with the reproduced chorus emissions. The results of this study demonstrate that the proposed method enables us to directly and quantitatively identify the location at which pitch angle scattering occurs in the simulation system and that the method can be applied to the results of space‐based observations by the forthcoming Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace (ERG) satellite.