Radiation belt dynamics: The importance of wave-particle interactions

Thorne, Richard Mansergh, Radiation belt dynamics: The importance of wave-particle interactions, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L22107 (2010) (ADS)

The cartoon

(click on the image for a larger version)

Not a flare at all, but something related to the "Earth Storm" that happens in the magnetosphere. Many a scholar has noted possible analogies, as echoed in the Archive here by the Obayashi cartoon of 1974, or the Akasofu cartoon of 1979, for example. This cartoon does not look at all like a solar flare observationally, but the aurora that a magnetic storm drive certainly has both superficial and fundamental similarities. Theoretically, for example, the Poynting flux could also be an important energy transport mechanism in flares.

      Consider the observational components here that are not often invoked in the solar case (hiss, EMIC waves, ring currents etc.) - this doubtless reflects need to study solar flare by the techniques of astronomy (remote sensing) rather than in situ. But this does not mean that solar theoretical work can safely ignore the physics they represent.

Date: 2022 April 20