Relativistic Electron Response Driven By Overlapping High Speed Stream and Coronal Mass Ejections

Shrikanth G Kanekal, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, United States, Daniel N Baker, University of Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, United States, Allison N Jaynes, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States, Ashley D D Greeley, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, United States, Michael G Henderson, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States, Yihua Zheng, Community Coordinated Modeling Center, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, United States, Geoffrey D Reeves, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, United States, Harlan E Spence, University of New Hampshire Main Campus, Space Science Center, Durham, NH, United States, Craig Kletzing, University of Iowa, Physics and Astronomy, Iowa City, United States and John R Wygant, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, United States
Abstract:
During early November 2013, the magnetosphere experienced concurrent driving by three coronal mass ejections during an ongoing high speed stream. The relativistic electron response to these two kinds of drivers is typically different, with the former often leading to a slower buildup of electrons and the latter energizing electrons rapidly. Observations made by the REPT instrument during this period show that both radial transport and local in-situ processes may be involved in the energization of relativistic electrons. We present a detailed analysis of pitch angle distributions, electron spectra and their temporal evolution as well as the phase space density variability of relativistic electrons seen by both the REPT instruments on the Van Allen probes spacecraft. Additional data characterizing the plasma waves and magnetospheric electric and magnetic fields during this period obtained by the EMFISIS and the EFW instruments are examined to fully establish the nature of the electron response during this complex event.
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