Abstract
The influence of low-frequency electrostatic turbulence on the flux of precipitating magnetospheric electrons is analyzed in the framework of the quasilinear kinetic equation. It is shown that an electron population in a turbulent region, with an electric field parallel to the ambient magnetic field, can be separated into two parts by introducing a pitch angle dependent runaway velocity v r ( θ). Lower energy electrons with parallel velocity v ∥ < v r are effectively scattered by plasma waves, so that they remain in the main population and are subjected to an anomalous transport equation. A distribution function f ∞ v −4 (or the particle flux vs energy J ∞ E −1) is established in this velocity range. Faster electrons with v ∥ ≳ v r are freely accelerated by a parallel electric field, so that they contribute directly to hot electron fluxes which are observed at ionospheric altitudes. New expressions are derived for the magnetic-field aligned current and the electron energy flux implied by this model. These expressions agree well with empirical relations observed in auroral inverted-V structures.
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