Van Allen Probes Spacecraft Research Articles

Observation and Numerical Simulation of Cavity Mode Oscillations Excited by an Interplanetary Shock

AbstractCavity mode oscillations (CMOs) are basic magnetohydrodynamic eigenmodes in the magnetosphere predicted by theory and are expected to occur following the arrival of an interplanetary shock. However, observational studies of shock‐induced CMOs have been sparse. We present a case study of a dayside ultralow‐frequency wave event that exhibited CMO properties. The event occurred immediately following the arrival of an interplanetary shock at 0829 UT on 15 August 2015. The shock was observed in the solar wind by the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms‐B and ‐C spacecraft, and magnetospheric ultralow‐frequency waves were observed by multiple spacecraft including the Van Allen Probe‐A and Van Allen Probe‐B spacecraft, which were located in the dayside plasmasphere at L ∼1.4 and L ∼ 2.4, respectively. Both Van Allen Probes spacecraft detected compressional poloidal mode oscillations at ∼13 mHz (fundamental) and ∼26 mHz (second harmonic). At both frequencies, the azimuthal component of the electric field (Eϕ) lagged behind the compressional component of the magnetic field (Bμ) by ∼90°. The frequencies and the Eϕ‐Bμ relative phase are in good agreement with the CMOs generated in a dipole magnetohydrodynamic simulation that incorporates a realistic plasma mass density distribution and ionospheric boundary condition. The oscillations were also detected on the ground by the European quasi‐Meridional Magnetometer Array, which was located near the magnetic field footprints of the Van Allen Probes spacecraft.

Magnetosphere dynamics during the 14 November 2012 storm inferred from TWINS, AMPERE, Van Allen Probes, and BATS-R-US–CRCM

Abstract. During the 14 November 2012 geomagnetic storm, the Van Allen Probes spacecraft observed a number of sharp decreases (“dropouts”) in particle fluxes for ions and electrons of different energies. In this paper, we investigate the global magnetosphere dynamics and magnetosphere–ionosphere (M–I) coupling during the dropout events using multipoint measurements by Van Allen Probes, TWINS, and AMPERE together with the output of the two-way coupled global BATS-R-US–CRCM model. We find different behavior for two pairs of dropouts. For one pair, the same pattern was repeated: (1) weak nightside Region 1 and 2 Birkeland currents before and during the dropout; (2) intensification of Region 2 currents after the dropout; and (3) a particle injection detected by TWINS after the dropout. The model predicted similar behavior of Birkeland currents. TWINS low-altitude emissions demonstrated high variability during these intervals, indicating high geomagnetic activity in the near-Earth tail region. For the second pair of dropouts, the structure of both Birkeland currents and ENA emissions was relatively stable. The model also showed quasi-stationary behavior of Birkeland currents and simulated ENA emissions with gradual ring current buildup. We confirm that the first pair of dropouts was caused by large-scale motions of the OCB (open–closed boundary) during substorm activity. We show the new result that this OCB motion was associated with global changes in Birkeland (M–I coupling) currents and strong modulation of low-altitude ion precipitation. The second pair of dropouts is the result of smaller OCB disturbances not related to magnetospheric substorms. The local observations of the first pair of dropouts result from a global magnetospheric reconfiguration, which is manifested by ion injections and enhanced ion precipitation detected by TWINS and changes in the structure of Birkeland currents detected by AMPERE. This study demonstrates that multipoint measurements along with the global model results enable the reconstruction of a more complete system-level picture of the dropout events and provides insight into M–I coupling aspects that have not previously been investigated. Keywords. Magnetospheric physics (magnetosphere–ionosphere interactions; magnetospheric configuration and dynamics); space plasma physics (numerical simulation studies)

Van Allen Probes Observations of Second Harmonic Poloidal Standing Alfvén Waves

AbstractLong‐lasting second‐harmonic poloidal standing Alfvén waves (P2 waves) were observed by the twin Van Allen Probes (Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP) spacecraft in the noon sector of the plasmasphere, when the spacecraft were close to the magnetic equator and had a small azimuthal separation. Oscillations of proton fluxes at the wave frequency (∼10 mHz) were also observed in the energy (W) range 50–300 keV. Using the unique RBSP orbital configuration, we determined the phase delay of magnetic field perturbations between the spacecraft with a 2nπ ambiguity. We then used finite gyroradius effects seen in the proton flux oscillations to remove the ambiguity and found that the waves were propagating westward with an azimuthal wave number (m) of ∼−200. The phase of the proton flux oscillations relative to the radial component of the wave magnetic field progresses with W, crossing 0 (northward moving protons) or 180° (southward moving protons) at W ∼ 120 keV. This feature is explained by drift‐bounce resonance (mωd ∼ ωb) of ∼120 keV protons with the waves, where ωd and ωb are the proton drift and bounce frequencies. At lower energies, the proton phase space density ( ) exhibits a bump‐on‐tail structure with occurring in the 1–10 keV energy range. This is unstable and can excite P2 waves through bounce resonance (ω ∼ ωb), where ω is the wave frequency.

Ring Current He Ion Control by Bounce Resonant ULF Waves

AbstractRing current energy He ion (∼65 keV to ∼520 keV) differential flux data from the Radiation Belt Storm Probe Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instrument aboard the Van Allan Probes spacecraft show considerable variability during quiet solar wind and geomagnetic time periods. Such variability is apparent from orbit to orbit (∼9 h) of the spacecraft and is observed to be ∼50–100% of the nominal flux. Using data from the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) instrument, also aboard the Van Allen Probes spacecraft, we identify that a dominant source of this variability is from ULF waveforms with periods of tens of seconds. These periods correspond to the bounce resonant timescales of the ring current He ions being measured by RBSPICE. A statistical survey using the particle and field data for one full spacecraft precession period (approximately 2 years) shows that the wave and He ion flux variations are generally anticorrelated, suggesting the bounce resonant pitch angle scattering process as a major component in the scattering of He ions.

Radiation-Induced Single-Event Effects on the Van Allen Probes Spacecraft

Electronic devices on the Van Allen Probes mission have experienced more than a thousand single-event effects (SEE) during the 4.5 years of transit through the inner and outer earth trapped radiation belts. The majority of these SEE have been due to trapped protons determined by the orbit timing and the dose rate response of the engineering radiation monitor. Fault tolerant systems engineering and spacecraft operation have enabled a successful mission to date without a safe mode or spacecraft emergency.

Simulated Prompt Acceleration of Multi‐MeV Electrons by the 17 March 2015 Interplanetary Shock

AbstractPrompt enhancement of relativistic electron flux at L = 3–5 has been reported from Van Allen Probes Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) measurements associated with the 17 March 2015 interplanetary shock compression of the dayside magnetosphere. Acceleration by ∼1 MeV is inferred on less than a drift timescale as seen in prior shock compression events, which launch a magnetosonic azimuthal electric field impulse tailward. This impulse propagates from the dayside around the flanks accelerating electrons in drift resonance at the dusk flank. Such longitudinally localized acceleration events produce a drift echo signature which was seen at >1 MeV energy on both Van Allen Probe spacecraft, with sustained observations by Probe B outbound at L = 5 at 2100 MLT at the time of impulse arrival, measured by the Electric Fields and Waves instrument. MHD test particle simulations are presented which reproduce drift echo features observed in the REPT measurements at Probe B, including the energy and pitch angle dependence of drift echoes observed. While the flux enhancement was short lived for this event due to subsequent inward motion of the magnetopause, stronger events with larger electric field impulses, as observed in March 1991 and the Halloween 2003 storm, produce enhancements which can be quantified by the inward radial transport and energization determined by the induction electric field resulting from dayside compression.

Empirical radiation belt models: Comparison with in situ data and implications for environment definition

AbstractThe empirical AP8/AE8 model has been the de facto Earth's radiation belts engineering reference for decades. The need from the community for a better model incubated the development of AP9/AE9/SPM, which addresses several shortcomings of the old model. We provide additional validation of AP9/AE9 by comparing in situ electron and proton data from Jason‐2, Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES), and the Van Allen Probes spacecraft with the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles from AE9/AP9 and with the model outputs from AE8/AP8. The relatively short duration of Van Allen Probes and Jason‐2 missions means that their measurements are most certainly the result of specific climatological conditions. In low Earth orbit (LEO), the Jason‐2 proton flux is better reproduced by AP8 compared to AP9, while the POES electron data are well enveloped by AE9 5th and 95th percentiles. The shape of the South Atlantic anomaly (SAA) from Jason‐2 data is better captured by AP9 compared to AP8, while the peak SAA flux is better reproduced by AP8. The <1.5 MeV inner belt electrons from Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) are well enveloped by AE9 5th and 95th percentiles, while AE8 overpredicts the measurements. In the outer radiation belt, MagEIS and Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope (REPT) electrons closely follow the median estimate from AE9, while AP9 5th and 95th percentiles generally envelope REPT proton measurements in the inner belt and slot regions. While AE9/AP9 offer the flexibility to specify the environment with different confidence levels, the dose and trapped proton peak flux for POES and Jason‐2 trajectories from the AE9/AP9 50th percentile and above are larger than the estimates from the AE8/AP8 models.

Dominance of high‐energy (>150 keV) heavy ion intensities in Earth's middle to outer magnetosphere

AbstractPrevious observations have driven the prevailing assumption in the field that energetic ions measured by an instrument using a bare solid state detector (SSD) are predominantly protons. However, new near‐equatorial energetic particle observations obtained between 7 and 12 RE during Phase 1 of the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission challenge the validity of this assumption. In particular, measurements by the Energetic Ion Spectrometer (EIS) instruments have revealed that the intensities of heavy ion species (specifically oxygen and helium) dominate those of protons at energies 150–220 keV in the middle to outer (>7 RE) magnetosphere. Given that relative composition measurements can drift as sensors degrade in gain, quality cross‐calibration agreement between EIS observations and those from the SSD‐based Fly's Eye Energetic Particle Spectrometer (FEEPS) sensors provides critical support to the veracity of the measurement. Similar observations from the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instruments aboard the Van Allen Probes spacecraft extend the ion composition measurements into the middle magnetosphere and reveal a strongly proton‐dominated environment at but decreasing proton intensities at . It is concluded that the intensity dominance of the heavy ions at higher energies (>150 keV) arises from the existence of significant populations of multiply‐charged heavy ions, presumably of solar wind origin.

Chorus whistler wave source scales as determined from multipoint Van Allen Probe measurements

AbstractWhistler mode chorus waves are particularly important in outer radiation belt dynamics due to their key role in controlling the acceleration and scattering of electrons over a very wide energy range. The key parameters for both nonlinear and quasi‐linear treatment of wave‐particle interactions are the temporal and spatial scales of the wave source region and coherence of the wave field perturbations. Neither the source scale nor the coherence scale is well established experimentally, mostly because of a lack of multipoint VLF waveform measurements. We present an unprecedentedly long interval of coordinated VLF waveform measurements (sampled at 16384 s−1) aboard the two Van Allen Probes spacecraft—9 h (0800–1200 UT and 1700–2200 UT) during two consecutive apogees on 15 July 2014. The spacecraft separations varied from about 100 to 5000 km (mostly radially); measurements covered an L shell range from 3 to 6; magnetic local time 0430–0900, and magnetic latitudes were ~15 and ~5° during the two orbits. Using time‐domain correlation techniques, the single chorus source spatial extent transverse to the background magnetic field has been determined to be about 550–650 km for upper band chorus waves with amplitudes less than 100 pT and up to 800 km for larger amplitude, lower band chorus waves. The ratio between wave amplitudes measured on the two spacecraft is also examined to reveal that the wave amplitude distribution within a single chorus element generation area can be well approximated by a Gaussian exp(−0.5 · r2/r02), with the characteristic scale r0 around 300 km. Waves detected by the two spacecraft were found to be coherent in phase at distances up to 400 km.

Van Allen Probes observations of structured whistler mode activity and coincident electron Landau acceleration inside a remnant plasmaspheric plume

AbstractWe present observations from the Van Allen Probes spacecraft that identify a region of intense whistler mode activity within a large density enhancement outside of the plasmasphere. We speculate that this density enhancement is part of a remnant plasmaspheric plume, with the observed wave being driven by a weakly anisotropic electron injection that drifted into the plume and became nonlinearly unstable to whistler emission. Particle measurements indicate that a significant fraction of thermal (<100 eV) electrons within the plume were subject to Landau acceleration by these waves, an effect that is naturally explained by whistler emission within a gradient and high‐density ducting inside a density enhancement.

Amplitude–frequency characteristics of ion–cyclotron and whistler-mode waves from Van Allen Probes data

Using two-hour (from 2300 UT January 25, 2013 to 0100 UT January 26, 2013) measurement data from Van Allen Probes on fluxes of energetic particles, cold plasma density, and magnetic field magnitude, we have calculated the local growth rate of electromagnetic ion–cyclotron and whistler-mode waves for field-aligned propagation. The results of these calculations have been compared with wave spectra observed by the same Van Allen Probe spacecraft. The time intervals when the calculated wave increments are sufficiently large, and the frequency ranges corresponding to the enhancement peak agree with the frequency–time characteristics of observed electromagnetic waves. We have analyzed the influence of variations in the density and ionic composition of cold plasma, fluxes of energetic particles, and their pitch-angle distribution on the wave generation. The ducted propagation of waves plays an important role in their generation during the given event. The chorus VLF emissions observed in this event cannot be explained by kinetic cyclotron instability, and their generation requires much sharper changes (“steps”) for velocity distributions than those measured by energetic particle detectors on Van Allen Probes satellites.

In situ statistical observations of Pc1 pearl pulsations and unstructured EMIC waves by the Van Allen Probes

AbstractWe present here the first in situ statistical survey of structured Pc1 pearl pulsations compared with unstructured electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves observed by the Van Allen Probes spacecraft. This data set was compiled from observations spanning 8 September 2012 through 31 August 2015 and comprises over 1630 h of total EMIC wave activity, of which 291 h exhibited pearl structure. Additionally, we have identified 29 wave events demonstrating periodically oscillating wave packets, mostly about the magnetic equator, indicated by the reversal of Poynting flux along the background magnetic field. We have found several stark differences between Pc1 pearl pulsations and unstructured EMIC waves. While unstructured EMIC waves demonstrate the predicted behavior of a higher occurrence across the dayside with enhanced wave power at dusk, pearl pulsations occur uniformly across magnetic local time, with a small enhancement in the late morning sector. Pearl pulsations were more often observed during magnetospherically quiet periods, particularly in the late recovery period of geomagnetic storms. The mean excitation frequency of pearl pulsations was observed to be independent of the local ion cyclotron frequency, and individual wave investigations indicate that the modulation period also remained constant for the duration of the event over a finite range in L. We examine three possible generation mechanisms—the bouncing wave packet model, modulation by ultralow‐frequency Pc4 and Pc5 waves, and the formation of an ion cyclotron resonator—but are unable to definitively confirm the validity of any one model.

Climatology of high‐β plasma measurements in Earth's inner magnetosphere

AbstractSince their launch in August 2012, the Radiation Belt Storm Probe Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instruments on the NASA Van Allen Probes spacecraft have been making continuous high‐resolution measurements of Earth's ring current plasma environment. After a full traversal through all magnetic local times, a climatology (i.e., a survey of observations) of high‐beta (β) plasma events (defined here as β > 1) as measured by the RBSPICE instrument in the ∼45 keV to ∼600 keV proton energy range in the inner magnetosphere (L < 5.8) has been constructed. In this paper we report this climatology of such high‐β plasma occurrences, durations, and their general characteristics. Specifically, we show that most high‐β events in the RBSPICE energy range are associated with postdusk/premidnight sector particle injections or plasma patches and can last from minutes to hours. While most of these events have a β less than 2, there are a number of observations reaching β greater than 4. Other observations of particular note are high‐β events during relatively minor geomagnetic storms and examples of very long duration high‐β plasmas. We show that high‐β plasmas are a relatively common occurrence in the inner magnetosphere during both quiet and active times. As such, the waves generated by these plasmas may have an underappreciated role in the inner magnetosphere, and thus the study of these plasmas and their instabilities may be more important than has been currently addressed.

Effects of ULF wave power on relativistic radiation belt electrons: 8–9 October 2012 geomagnetic storm

AbstractElectromagnetic ultralow‐frequency (ULF) waves are known to play a substantial role in radial transport, acceleration, and loss of relativistic particles trapped in the Earth's outer radiation belt. Using in situ observations by multiple spacecraft operating in the vicinity of outer radiation belts, we analyze the temporal and spatial behavior of ULF waves throughout the geomagnetic storm of 8–9 October 2012 and compare with the dynamics of relativistic electron fluxes on board the twin Van Allen Probes spacecraft. The analysis shows that the relativistic electron fluxes reduce from their prestorm levels during the first phase of the storm and rapidly increase during the second phase of the storm. We demonstrate that the behavior of ULF wave power changes throughout the storm, from ULF oscillations being a mixture of compressional and shear magnetic components during the first phase of the storm to ULF oscillations being dominated by transverse (shear) components during the second phase. We analyze the parameters of ULF‐driven radial diffusion throughout the storm and compare the observed diffusion coefficients with their statistical averages. We demonstrate that the observed diffusion coefficients are strong enough to impact the redistribution of relativistic electron fluxes from and to the outer boundary of radiation belts and the diffusion might influence the effects of any local electron acceleration by transporting fluxes inward or outward according to phase space density gradients.

Propagation of ULF waves from the upstream region to the midnight sector of the inner magnetosphere

AbstractUltralow frequency (ULF) waves generated in the ion foreshock are a well‐known source of Pc3‐Pc4 waves (7–100 mHz) observed in the dayside magnetosphere. We use data acquired on 10 April 2013 by multiple spacecraft to demonstrate that ULF waves of upstream origin can propagate to the midnight sector of the inner magnetosphere. At 1130–1730 UT on the selected day, the two Van Allen Probes spacecraft and the geostationary ETS‐VIII satellite detected compressional 20 to 40 mHz magnetic field oscillations between L ∼ 4 and L ∼ 7 in the midnight sector, along with other spacecraft located closer to noon. Upstream origin of the oscillations is concluded from the wave frequency that matches a theoretical model, globally coherent amplitude modulation, and duskward propagation that is consistent with expected entry of the upstream wave energy through the dawnside flank under the observed interplanetary magnetic field. The oscillations are attributed to magnetohydrodynamic fast‐mode waves based on their propagation velocity of ∼300 km/s and the relationship between the electric and magnetic field perturbations. The magnitude of the azimuthal wave number is estimated to be ∼30. There is no evidence that the oscillations propagated to the ground in the midnight sector.

Conjugate observations of quasiperiodic emissions by the Cluster, Van Allen Probes, and THEMIS spacecraft

AbstractWe present results of a detailed analysis of two electromagnetic wave events observed in the inner magnetosphere at frequencies of a few kilohertz, which exhibit a quasiperiodic (QP) time modulation of the wave intensity. The events were observed by the Cluster and Van Allen Probes spacecraft and in one event also by the THEMIS E spacecraft. The spacecraft were significantly separated in magnetic local time, demonstrating a huge azimuthal extent of the events. Geomagnetic conditions at the times of the observations were very quiet, and the events occurred inside the plasmasphere. The modulation period observed by the Van Allen Probes and THEMIS E spacecraft (duskside) was in both events about twice larger than the modulation period observed by the Cluster spacecraft (dawnside). Moreover, individual QP elements occur about 15 s earlier on THEMIS E than on Van Allen Probes, which might be related to a finite propagation speed of a modulating ULF wave.

Storm time impulsive enhancements of energetic oxygen due to adiabatic acceleration of preexisting warm oxygen in the inner magnetosphere

AbstractWe examine enhancements of energetic (>50 keV) oxygen ions observed by the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instrument on board the Van Allen Probes spacecraft in the inner magnetosphere (L ~ 6) at 22–23 h magnetic local time (MLT) during an injection event of the 6 June 2013 storm. Simultaneous observations by two Van Allen Probes spacecraft located close together (~0.5 RE) indicate that particle injections occurred in the premidnight sector (< ~24 h MLT). We also examine the evolution of the proton and oxygen energy spectra at L ~ 6 during the injection event. The spectral slope did not significantly change during the storm. The oxygen phase space density (PSD) was shifted toward higher PSD in a wide range of the first adiabatic invariant. The spectral evolution manifests the characteristics of adiabatic acceleration and density increase of oxygen ions. Warm (0.1–10 keV) oxygen measured by the Helium, Oxygen, Proton, and Electron (HOPE) instrument was enhanced prior to the storm mostly in magnetic field‐aligned directions. The most reasonable scenario of this event is that warm oxygen ions that preexisted in the inner magnetosphere were picked up and adiabatically transported and accelerated by spatially localized, temporarily impulsive electric fields.

The source of O+ in the storm time ring current

AbstractA stretched and compressed geomagnetic field occurred during the main phase of a geomagnetic storm on 1 June 2013. During the storm the Van Allen Probes spacecraft made measurements of the plasma sheet boundary layer and observed large fluxes of O+ ions streaming up the field line from the nightside auroral region. Prior to the storm main phase there was an increase in the hot (>1 keV) and more isotropic O+ ions in the plasma sheet. In the spacecraft inbound pass through the ring current region during the storm main phase, the H+ and O+ ions were significantly enhanced. We show that this enhanced inner magnetosphere ring current population is due to the inward adiabatic convection of the plasma sheet ion population. The energy range of the O+ ion plasma sheet that impacts the ring current most is found to be from ~5 to 60 keV. This is in the energy range of the hot population that increased prior to the start of the storm main phase, and the ion fluxes in this energy range only increase slightly during the extended outflow time interval. Thus, the auroral outflow does not have a significant impact on the ring current during the main phase. The auroral outflow is transported to the inner magnetosphere but does not reach high enough energies to affect the energy density. We conclude that the more energetic O+ that entered the plasma sheet prior to the main phase and that dominates the ring current is likely from the cusp.

Automated determination of electron density from electric field measurements on the Van Allen Probes spacecraft

AbstractWe present the Neural‐network‐based Upper hybrid Resonance Determination (NURD) algorithm for automatic inference of the electron number density from plasma wave measurements made on board NASA's Van Allen Probes mission. A feedforward neural network is developed to determine the upper hybrid resonance frequency, fuhr, from electric field measurements, which is then used to calculate the electron number density. In previous missions, the plasma resonance bands were manually identified, and there have been few attempts to do robust, routine automated detections. We describe the design and implementation of the algorithm and perform an initial analysis of the resulting electron number density distribution obtained by applying NURD to 2.5 years of data collected with the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) instrumentation suite of the Van Allen Probes mission. Densities obtained by NURD are compared to those obtained by another recently developed automated technique and also to an existing empirical plasmasphere and trough density model.

Extreme ionospheric ion energization and electron heating in Alfvén waves in the storm time inner magnetosphere

AbstractWe report measurements of energized outflowing/bouncing ionospheric ions and heated electrons in the inner magnetosphere during a geomagnetic storm. The ions arrive in the equatorial plane with pitch angles that increase with energy over a range from tens of eV to > 50 keV while the electrons are field aligned up to ~1 keV. These particle distributions are observed during intervals of broadband low‐frequency electromagnetic field fluctuations consistent with a Doppler‐shifted spectrum of kinetic Alfvén waves and kinetic field line resonances. The fluctuations extend from L ≈ 3 out to the apogee of the Van Allen Probes spacecraft at L ≈ 6.5. They thereby span most of the L shell range occupied by the ring current. These measurements suggest a model for ionospheric ion outflow and energization driven by dispersive Alfvén waves that may account for the large storm time contribution of ionospheric ions to magnetospheric energy density.