Explore the vast range of titles available.

Energetic electron precipitation from Earth’s outer radiation belt heats the upper atmosphere and alters its chemical properties. The precipitating flux intensity, typically modelled using inputs from high-altitude, equatorial spacecraft, dictates the radiation belt’s energy contribution to the atmosphere and the strength of space-atmosphere coupling. The classical quasi-linear theory of electron precipitation through moderately fast diffusive interactions with plasma waves predicts that precipitating electron fluxes cannot exceed fluxes of electrons trapped in the radiation belt, setting an apparent upper limit for electron precipitation. Here we show from low-altitude satellite observations, that ~100 keV electron precipitation rates often exceed this apparent upper limit. We demonstrate that such superfast precipitation is caused by nonlinear electron interactions with intense plasma waves, which have not been previously incorporated in radiation belt models. The high occurrence rate of superfast precipitation suggests that it is important for modelling both radiation belt fluxes and space-atmosphere coupling. Energetic electron densities in the radiation belt increases during geomagnetic storms. Here, the authors show oblique whistler mode waves enhance electron losses and create strong fluxes of about 100 keV electrons precipitating into the atmosphere, that should be considered in radiation belt models.

The ionosphere is one of the important sources for magnetospheric plasma, particularly for heavy ions with low charge states. We investigate the effect of solar illumination on the number flux of ion outflow using data obtained by the Fast Auroral SnapshoT (FAST) satellite at 3000–4150 km altitude from 7 January 1998 to 5 February 1999. We derive empirical formulas between energy inputs and outflowing ion number fluxes for various solar zenith angle ranges. We found that the outflowing ion number flux under sunlit conditions increases more steeply with increasing electron density in the loss cone or with increasing precipitating electron density (> 50 eV), compared to the ion flux under dark conditions. Under ionospheric dark conditions, weak electron precipitation can drive ion outflow with small averaged fluxes (~ 107 cm−2 s−1). The slopes of relations between the Poynting fluxes and outflowing ion number fluxes show no clear dependence on the solar zenith angle. Intense ion outflow events (> 108 cm−2 s−1) occur mostly under sunlit conditions (solar zenith angle < 90°). Thus, it is presumably difficult to drive intense ion outflows under dark conditions, because of a lack of the solar illumination (low ionospheric density and/or small scale height owing to low plasma temperature).

Ground‐based very low frequency transmitters emit signals that primarily propagate within the Earth–ionosphere waveguide, and some of their energy can propagate into the magnetosphere. Ionospheric observations from the DEMETER satellite reveal a distinct concentric rings pattern of the wave power distribution of the North West Cape transmitter on the transverse (longitude–L‐shell) plane. Using data from the Van Allen Probes and Arase/energization and Radiation in Geospace satellites, we find that the concentric rings pattern is still visible but becomes less distinct. The pattern shifts outward, and becomes more elliptic as the wave propagates from the southern ionosphere to the Northern Hemisphere. To investigate the cause of this evolution, we performed ray tracing simulations under three conditions: ducted propagation, non‐ducted propagation with vertical initial wave normal angles and non‐ducted propagation with spread initial wave normal angles. The results show that non‐ducted propagation with spread wave normal angles best explains the observed evolution of wave power distribution pattern during the propagation.

Plasmaspheric hiss waves are important to shape the Earth’s electron radiation belt. These waves are commonly envisioned to have a long lifetime which allows them to permeate the global plasmasphere from a spatially restricted source. However, this hypothesis has not been experimentally confirmed yet, because of the challenging observational requirements in terms of location and timing. With wave and particle measurements from five magnetospheric satellites and detailed modeling, we present the first report of long lifetime (∼42 s) hiss rays in the substorm‐disturbed plasmasphere. The low‐frequency hiss waves are found to originate from the middle piece of the plasmaspheric plume, bounce between two hemispheres, and eventually drift into the plasmaspheric core. These hiss rays can travel through ∼3 hr magnetic local time and ∼4 magnetic shell. Such a long‐time and large‐scale permeation of hiss rays could benefit from the ducting process by plasmaspheric field‐aligned density irregularities. Plain Language Summary Earth’s plasmasphere is populated by a type of whistler‐mode wave named plasmaspheric hiss which is able to shape the electron radiation belt. Hiss waves were commonly envisioned to have a long lifetime which allows them to permeate the global plasmasphere from a spatially restricted source. Although there have been numerous studies on the source of plasmaspheric hiss waves, the hypothesis regarding their long lifetime remains not experimentally confirmed yet because of the challenging observational requirements in terms of location and timing. On the basis of wave and particle measurements from five magnetospheric satellites covering the entire plasmasphere and detailed modeling, we show that the hiss rays can survive at least 42 s in the plasmasphere disturbed by substorms. Within the survival period, these hiss rays migrated from the middle piece of the plasmaspheric plume to the plasmaspheric core, whose path lengths reached 25 Earth radii. Such a long‐time and large‐scale permeation of hiss rays from the plasmaspheric plume to the plasmaspheric core could benefit from the ducting process by plasmaspheric field‐aligned density irregularities. Key Points Low‐frequency hiss waves were excited by energetic electrons inside the dayside plasmaspheric plume following substorms Low‐frequency hiss rays survived at least 42 s, allowing themselves to migrate from the plasmaspheric plume to the plasmaspheric core Plasmaspheric density ducts facilitated the permeation of hiss rays from the plasmaspheric plume to the plasmaspheric core

The Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace (ERG) Science Center serves as a hub of the ERG project, providing data files in a common format and developing the space physics environment data analysis software and plug-ins for data analysis. The Science Center also develops observation plans for the ERG (Arase) satellite according to the science strategy of the project. Conjugate observations with other satellites and ground-based observations are also planned. These tasks contribute to the ERG project by achieving quick analysis and well-organized conjugate ERG satellite and ground-based observations.

We report an Arase‐all sky imager (ASI) conjugate event in which the pulsating aurora (PsA) has a one‐to‐one correspondence with chorus bursts. Wavelet analysis displayed three peaks at ∼0.3 Hz, 4 Hz, and >10 Hz, corresponding to the main pulsation, internal modulation, and fast modulation, respectively. These correspond to the old terms of ∼5–15 s pulsations, chorus risers/elements and subelements/subpackets, respectively. Electron “microbursts” correspond to the 4‐Hz peak. The internal and fast modulations are further verified by the analysis based on fast Fourier transform analyses. Moreover, the spatial distributions of the Fourier spectral amplitude show that the internal and fast modulations are well‐structured within auroral patches. The above results indicate a paradigm shift away from quasilinear theory which implicitly assumes diffuse wave generation. The three time‐scale modulations are consistent with coherent chorus which has been theoretically argued to lead to pitch angle transport three orders of magnitude faster. Plain Language Summary Pulsating aurora exhibit irregular patches of brightness with quasiperiodic on‐off transitions (∼2–20 s). More rapid modulations, such as internal modulation (∼3–4 Hz) or fast modulation (>10 Hz), have been detected within the pulsation “on” time. However, due to the measurement limitations, the simultaneous observation of three time‐scale modulations has never been reported. In this study, we analyze the conjugate observations of the pulsating aurora (PsA) and chorus recorded by the ground‐based Arase‐all sky imager and the Arase satellite, which demonstrates the coexistence of three time‐scale modulations in the PsA. The spatial distributions of Fourier spectral amplitude show that the internal and fast modulations are well‐structured within the aurora patches. The three time scales of chorus modulation have been previously called chorus 5–15 s pulsations, risers/elements and subelements/subpackets corresponding to the three aurora peaks. This study verifies the existence of internal and fast modulations in PsA, implying an extremely rapid electron loss mechanism. Quasilinear theory cannot explain any of the three time‐scale modulations. The discovery that chorus is coherent and will lead to pitch angle transport 1,000 times faster than diffuse waves is consistent with the fast modulations shown in this paper. A new theory of chorus generation is needed to update that of quasilinear theory. Key Points We report a conjugate event in which the pulsating aurora (PsA) has a one‐to‐one correspondence with chorus bursts The frequency spectra of auroral intensities obtained by wavelet analysis and fast Fourier transform (FFT) show the coexistence of ∼0.3 Hz, 4 Hz, and >10 Hz modulations Spatial distributions show that the internal and fast modulations are well‐structured within aurora patches

This study demonstrates the influence of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) rising‐tone emissions on relativistic electrons in the inner magnetosphere using data obtained from the Van Allen Probes and Arase satellites. We find that the intense EMIC rising‐tone emissions occur during the increase in the solar wind pressures, creating favorable conditions for triggering nonlinear wave growth. The strong flux drop‐out of relativistic electrons in the parallel directions of the magnetic field, with energies of 0.2–4 MeV, was associated with the wave activity. We calculated the nonlinear triggering conditions and the minimum resonant energy of relativistic electrons interaction with EMIC waves, based on our observations. We conclude that EMIC rising‐tone emissions contribute not only to the rapid loss of MeV electrons through EMIC wave‐particle interactions while extending the resonance energy to a few MeV by broadening bandwidth via nonlinear wave growth but also to interactions with sub‐MeV electrons through the nonresonant effect. Plain Language Summary Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave‐particle interactions play an important role in controlling the dynamics of the inner magnetosphere, particularly the loss of energetic protons (1–100 keV) and relativistic electrons (several MeV) in the radiation belts. Nonlinear wave growth of EMIC rising‐tone emissions contributes to the rapid loss of relativistic electrons and ring current ions. Remarkably, EMIC rising‐tone emissions meet the nonlinear triggering conditions driven by the compressed dayside magnetosphere. Significant decreases in relativistic electrons in the parallel direction to the magnetic field are associated with the wave activity. The present result provides new insights into the dynamics of the inner magnetosphere, including radiation belts, by EMIC WPI. Key Points Nonlinear EMIC waves observed in the dayside uniform zone, caused by solar wind compression, meet conditions for the nonlinear wave growth The significant flux drop‐out of electrons within energies of 0.6–4 MeV was associated with the intense EMIC rising‐tone emissions Nonlinear EMIC emissions cause a rapid loss of MeV electrons by nonlinear effect and extend scattering to sub‐MeV by nonresonant effect

The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) is a network of high-frequency (HF) radars located in the high- and mid-latitude regions of both hemispheres that is operated under international cooperation. The network was originally designed for monitoring the dynamics of the ionosphere and upper atmosphere in the high-latitude regions. However, over the last approximately 15 years, SuperDARN has expanded into the mid-latitude regions. With radar coverage that now extends continuously from auroral to sub-auroral and mid-latitudes, a wide variety of new scientific findings have been obtained. In this paper, the background of mid-latitude SuperDARN is presented at first. Then, the accomplishments made with mid-latitude SuperDARN radars are reviewed in five specified scientific and technical areas: convection, ionospheric irregularities, HF propagation analysis, ion-neutral interactions, and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves. Finally, the present status of mid-latitude SuperDARN is updated and directions for future research are discussed.

Previous studies have shown that auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) can play an important role in the magnetosphere‐atmosphere coupling and has the right‐handed extraordinary (R‐X), left‐handed ordinary (L‐O) and left‐handed extraordinary (L‐X) modes. However, the L‐X mode has not been directly observed in the lower latitude magnetosphere yet, probably because of its very limited frequency range. Here, using observations of the Arase satellite on 6 September 2018, we present an AKR event with two distinct bands (8–20 and 300–1000 kHz) around the location: L = 8 and latitude = −37°. The low (high) band is identified as the L‐X (R‐X) mode based on the polarization and frequency ranges. Simulations of 3‐D ray tracing show that most of ray paths with 14 (11 and 18) kHz pass (miss) the location of Arase, basically consistent with observations. Our study provides direct evidence that the L‐X mode can propagate from high latitudes downward to lower latitudes. Plain Language Summary Auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) is a widely existing radio emission with kilometric wavelength at the Earth, contributing to the magnetosphere‐atmosphere coupling. Similar emissions have been observed on all magnetic planets of the solar system. Previous studies have shown that AKR primarily occurs in the R‐X mode, with a small contribution in the L‐O and L‐X modes. The L‐X mode at lower latitudes has not been directly observed so far, most likely due to its extremely limited frequency range. Here, we present an L‐X mode (peak frequency ∼14 kHz) in the lower latitude magnetosphere observed by the Arase satellite. Using the 3‐D ray tracing method, we simulate ray paths with different initial wave parameters and source locations. Simulations show that ray paths with 14 (11 and 18) kHz pass (miss) the location of the Arase satellite and are highly dependent on initial wave parameters and the location of source. Our results provide a direct evidence that the L‐X mode from high latitude source regions can propagate downward to lower latitudes under suitable conditions. This study enriches the understanding of AKR propagation characteristics in the magnetosphere. Key Points An auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) event with two distinct bands (8–20 kHz and 300–1000 kHz) is observed around the location: L = 8 and latitude = −37° Based on the polarization and frequency ranges, the low (high) band AKR is identified as the L‐X (R‐X) mode 3‐D ray tracing simulations show that L‐X mode can propagate downward to lower latitudes, basically consistent with observations