Proton Acceleration at Injection Fronts in the Inner Magnetosphere

Abstract:

During geomagnetic storms a large volume of ions are transported from the magnetotail deep into the inner magnetosphere leading to ion acceleration to the energies of tens to hundreds keV. Energized ions become the dominant source of plasma pressure in the inner magnetosphere. Hot plasma pressure drives large electrical currents which determine global electrodynamics and coupling of the inner magnetosphere-ionosphere system. Recent analysis of ion measurements from the RBSPICE experiment of the Van Allen Probes mission showed that the buildup of plasma pressure in the inner magnetosphere largely occurs in the form of localized discrete injections similar to dipolarization fronts observed in the magnetotail. Previous studies proposed several mechanisms that can rapidly accelerate protons to ~100 keV at injection fronts in the magnetotail including betatron-line acceleration, reflection and the synchrotron effect. None of these mechanisms, however, can operate in the inner magnetosphere where the ambient magnetic field is much higher and the propagation speeds of injection fronts are much lower. In this paper we discuss a new mechanism of stable proton trapping and acceleration inherent to the inner magnetosphere that can rapidly energize particles to >200 keV.