ULF wave indices to characterize the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction and relativistic electron dynamics

Abstract

To quantify the level of low-frequency wave activity of the magnetosphere and IMF, a set of the ULF wave power indices has been introduced. We demonstrate that the ULF activity global level can be very useful in space weather related problems. The application of the interplanetary index to an analysis of auroral activity driving has shown that a turbulent IMF drives auroral activity more strongly than the laminar solar wind does. The enhancements of relativistic electrons at the geosynchronous orbit are known not to be directly related to the intensity of magnetic storms. We found that the electron dynamics correlated well with long-lasting intervals of elevated ground ULF wave index. This fact confirms the importance of magnetospheric ULF turbulence in energizing electrons up to relativistic energies. The time-integrated ULF index demonstrates a significantly higher correlation with electron fluxes, which implies the occurrence of a cumulative effect in the electron energization.