Through polarization and spectra analysis of the magnetic field observed by the Van Allen Probe A, we present two typical cases of O+ band electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves in the outer plasmasphere or plasma trough. Although such O+ band EMIC waves are rarely observed, 18 different events of O+ band EMIC waves (16 events in the outer plasmasphere and two events in the plasma trough) are found from September 2012 to August 2014 with observations of the Van Allen Probe A. We find that the preferred region for the occurrence of O+ band EMIC waves is in L = 2–5 and magnetic local time  = 03–13, 19–20, which is in accordance with the occurrence region of O+ ion torus. Therefore, our result suggests that the O+ ion torus in the outer plasmasphere during geomagnetic activities should play an important role in the generation of EMIC waves in O+ band.

Utilizing the data from the magnetometer instrument which is a part of the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science instrument suite on board the Van Allen Probe A from September 2012 to April 2014, when the apogee of the satellite has passed all the magnetic local time (MLT) sectors, we obtain the statistical distribution characteristics of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves in the inner magnetosphere over all magnetic local times from L = 3 to L = 6. Compared with the previous statistical results about EMIC waves, the occurrence rates of EMIC waves distribute relatively uniform in the MLT sectors in lower L shells. On the other hand, in higher L shells, there are indeed some peaks of the occurrence rate for the EMIC waves, especially in the noon, dusk, and night sectors. EMIC waves appear at lower L shells in the dawn sector than in other sectors. In the lower L shells (L < 4), the occurrence rates of EMIC waves are significant in the dawn sector. This phenomenon may result from the distribution characteristics of the plasmasphere. The location of the plasmapause is usually lower in the dawn sector than that in other sectors, and the plasmapause is considered to be the favored region for the generation of EMIC waves. In higher L shells (L > 4) the occurrence rates of EMIC waves are most significant in the dusk sector, implying the important role of the plasmapause or plasmaspheric plume in generating EMIC waves. We have also investigated the distribution characteristics of the hydrogen band and the helium band EMIC waves. Surprisingly, in the inner magnetosphere, the hydrogen band EMIC waves occur more frequently than the helium band EMIC waves. Both of them have peaks of occurrence rate in noon, dusk, and night sectors, and the hydrogen band EMIC waves have more obvious peaks than the helium band EMIC waves in the night sector, while the helium band EMIC waves are more concentrated than the hydrogen band EMIC waves in the dusk sector. Both of them occur significantly in the noon sector, which implies the important role of the solar wind dynamic pressure.

Chorus waves play an important role in the dynamic evolution of energetic electrons in the Earth's radiation belts and ring current. Using more than 5 years of Van Allen Probe data, we developed a new analytical model for upper‐band chorus (UBC; 0.5fce < f < fce) and lower‐band chorus (LBC; 0.05fce < f < 0.5fce) waves, where fce is the equatorial electron gyrofrequency. By applying polynomial fits to chorus wave root mean square amplitudes, we developed regression models for LBC and UBC as a function of geomagnetic activity (Kp), L, magnetic latitude (λ), and magnetic local time (MLT). Dependence on Kp is separated from the dependence on λ, L, and MLT as Kp‐scaling law to simplify the calculation of diffusion coefficients and inclusion into particle tracing codes. Frequency models for UBC and LBC are also developed, which depends on MLT and magnetic latitude. This empirical model is valid in all MLTs, magnetic latitude up to 20°, Kp ≤ 6, L‐shell range from 3.5 to 6 for LBC and from 4 to 6 for UBC. The dependence of root mean square amplitudes on L are different for different bands, which implies different energy sources for different wave bands. This analytical chorus wave model is convenient for inclusion in quasi‐linear diffusion calculations of electron scattering rates and particle simulations in the inner magnetosphere, especially for the newly developed four‐dimensional codes, which require significantly improved wave parameterizations.

We report in situ observations by the Van Allen Probe mission that magnetosonic (MS) waves are clearly relevant to the background plasma number density. As the satellite moved across dense and tenuous plasma alternatively, MS waves occurred only in lower density region. As the observed protons with “ring” distributions provide free energy, local linear growth rates are calculated and show that magnetosonic waves can be locally excited in tenuous plasma. With variations of the background plasma density, the temporal variations of local wave growth rates calculated with the observed proton ring distributions show a remarkable agreement with those of the observed wave amplitude. Therefore, the paper provides a direct proof that background plasma densities can modulate the amplitudes of magnetosonic waves through controlling the wave growth rates.

Utilizing the data from magnetometer instrument of Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) suite on board Van Allen Probe A, the occurrences of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves during geomagnetic storms and nonstorm periods are investigated. The 270 EMIC wave events and 76 geomagnetic storms were identified during the period under research, from 8 September 2012 to 30 April 2014, when the apogee of Van Allen Probe A covered all the magnetic local time (MLT) sectors. Fifty of the 76 storms observed 124 EMIC wave events, of which 80 are found in the recovery phase, more than those observed in the main phase. Majority EMIC wave events (~54%) were observed during the nonstorm periods. Occurrence rates of EMIC waves as a function of L and MLT during different geomagnetic conditions are also examined, whose peaks in main phase are higher than those in recovery phase. However, occurrences of EMIC waves in recovery phase distribute more uniformly than those do in main phase. Evolution of the distribution characteristics of EMIC waves respect to L and MLT in different geomagnetic phases is investigated, consistent with that of the plasmasphere during geomagnetic storms, implying that the cold and dense plasma in the plasmasphere or plasmaspheric plume play a significant role in the generation of EMIC waves in the inner magnetosphere. Few EMIC waves in the dayside sector during the preonset periods are observed, suggesting that the effect of solar wind dynamic pressure on the generation of EMIC waves in the inner magnetosphere in those periods is not so significant as expected.

The Van Allen Probes mission provides unique measurements of the most energetic radiation belt electrons at ultrarelativistic energies. Simultaneous observations of plasma waves allow for the routine inference of total plasma number density, a parameter that is very difficult to measure directly. On the basis of long-term observations in 2015, we show that the underlying plasma density has a controlling effect over acceleration to ultrarelativistic energies, which occurs only when the plasma number density drops down to very low values (~10 cm–3). Such low density creates preferential conditions for local diffusive acceleration of electrons from hundreds of kilo–electron volts up to >7 MeV. While previous models could not reproduce the local acceleration of electrons to such high energies, here we complement the observations with a numerical model to show that the conditions of extreme cold plasma depletion result in acceleration up to >7 MeV.

[1] In this paper, we present characteristics of precipitating energetic ions/electrons associated with the wave-particle interaction in the plasmaspheric plume during the geomagnetic storm on July 18, 2005 with observations of the NOAA15 NOAA16, IMAGE satellites and Finnish network of search coil magnetometers. Conjugate observations of the NOAA15 satellite and the Finnish network of search coil magnetometers have demonstrated that a sharp enhancement of the precipitating ion flux is a result of ring current (RC) ions scattered into the loss cone by EMIC waves. Those precipitating RC ions lead to a detached subauroral proton arc observed by the IMAGE FUV. In addition, with observations of NOAA15 and NOAA16, the peak of precipitating electron flux was equatorward to that of precipitating proton flux, which is in agreement with the region separation of ELF hiss and EMIC waves observed by the Cluster C1 in the Yuan et al. (2012) companion paper. In combination with the result of the companion paper, we demonstrate the link between the wave activities (ELF hiss, EMIC waves) in plasmaspheric plumes and energetic ion/electron precipitation at ionospheric altitudes. Therefore, it is an important characteristic of the plasmaspheric plumes-RC-ionosphere interaction during a geomagnetic storm that the precipitation of energetic protons is latitudinally separated from that of energetic electrons.Citation: Yuan, Z., Y. Xiong, D. Wang, M. Li, X. Deng, A. G. Yahnin, T. Raita, and J. Wang (2012), Characteristics of precipitating energetic ions/electrons associated with the wave-particle interaction in the plasmaspheric plume, J. Geophys.

Up until recently, signatures of the ultrarelativistic electron loss driven by electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves in the Earth's outer radiation belt have been limited to direct or indirect measurements of electron precipitation or the narrowing of normalized pitch angle distributions in the heart of the belt. In this study, we demonstrate additional observational evidence of ultrarelativistic electron loss that can be driven by resonant interaction with EMIC waves. We analyzed the profiles derived from Van Allen Probe particle data as a function of time and three adiabatic invariants between 9 October and 29 November 2012. New local minimums in the profiles are accompanied by the narrowing of normalized pitch angle distributions and ground‐based detection of EMIC waves. Such a correlation may be indicative of ultrarelativistic electron precipitation into the Earth's atmosphere caused by resonance with EMIC waves.