R. Nakamura et al., RELATIVISTIC ELECTRON-PRECIPITATION ENHANCEMENTS NEAR THE OUTER EDGE OF THE RADIATION BELT, Geophysical research letters, 22(9), 1995, pp. 1129-1132
We examined characteristics of relativistic electron precipitation bur
sts observed by the Heavy Ion Large Telescope (HILT) experiment onboar
d the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX)
satellite. We report on relatively narrow, persistent, latitudinal ban
ds of precipitation with time scales of 10 similar to 30 sec near the
outer edge of the radiation belt: these develop and decay with a time
scale of a few hours. Acceleration processes more effective than the u
sual radial diffusion process or scattering process would be needed to
explain this strong precipitation band phenomenon. Another prominent
signature is microbursts with a time scale down to a few hundred milli
seconds. It is suggest that these microbursts are due to wave-particle
interaction involving a relaxation-oscillator type of mechanism.