Impact of geomagnetic activity on the evolution patterns of artificial radiation belt electrons
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摘要: 人工辐射带对空间飞行器寿命和性能存在潜在威胁，高纬度爆点产生的大量高能粒子会注入地球外辐射带，而外辐射带相较于内辐射带更容易受到地磁活动的影响。基于VERB3D模型构建了人工辐射带模型，并从三个参量对高L壳层人工辐射带内的电子的扩散和演化进行了数值模拟，研究分析了地磁活动对电子演化规律的影响。强地磁活动不仅会导致等离子体层发生明显内缩，还会使等离子体层内外波的水平指数级增强。由于波粒互作用是辐射带粒子扩散的主要机制，因此强地磁活动会显著加速人工辐射带的扩散过程。当地磁活动剧烈时，原本非均匀分布的人工辐射带电子会经历明显的扩散加速过程，电子通量显著衰减，在较短时间内达到径向、能量和投掷角的稳定分布状态，这种稳定分布的高能电子通量也会受到地磁活动的显著影响而持续下降。人工辐射带的加速扩散将有效降低其对空间飞行器的损伤程度，可为空间飞行器的防护设计提供新的理论依据。Abstract: Artificial radiation belts pose potential threats to spacecraft longevity and performance. High-latitude detonation points can inject large quantities of high-energy particles into Earth's outer radiation belt, which is more susceptible to geomagnetic disturbances compared to the inner radiation belt. Understanding the effects of geomagnetic activity on these particles is of significant importance. This study aims to investigate the diffusion and evolution patterns of electrons in high-L-shell artificial radiation belts under geomagnetic activity, analyzing how geomagnetic disturbances influence electron distribution and decay processes to provide theoretical foundations for spacecraft protection. A three-dimensional artificial radiation belt model was developed based on the VERB3D framework. Numerical simulations were conducted to examine electron diffusion and evolution across three parameters: radial distance, energy, and pitch angle. The analysis focused on geomagnetic effects on plasmasphere morphology, wave field intensity, and wave-particle interactions. Intense geomagnetic activity not only caused significant inward contraction of the plasmasphere but also exponentially enhanced wave field intensities both inside and outside the plasmasphere. This accelerated the diffusion process of artificial radiation belt electrons, leading to rapid flux attenuation and achieving stable distribution states in radial distance, energy, and pitch angle within a relatively short timeframe. However, under sustained geomagnetic influence, the flux of stably distributed high-energy electrons continued to decline. Geomagnetic activity can significantly accelerate the diffusion and decay processes of artificial radiation belts, thereby reducing their hazardous effects on spacecraft. These findings provide new theoretical foundations for spacecraft protection design and hold important reference value for space environment safety assurance.
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图 1 2012年10月1日至11月30日的能量为2.0 MeV投掷角为85°的电子通量
Figure 1. The electron flux with an energy of 2.0 MeV and an injection angle of 85° from October 1, 2012, to November 30, 2012
图 2 2012年10月1日至11月30日的能量为3.6 MeV投掷角为85°的电子通量
Figure 2. The electron flux with an energy of 2.0 MeV and an injection angle of 85° from October 1, 2012, to November 30, 2012
图 4 地磁活动强烈时期的人工辐射带扩散情况
Figure 4. The diffusion of artificial radiation belts during periods of intense geomagnetic activity
图 5 地磁活动平静时期的人工辐射带扩散情况
Figure 5. The diffusion of artificial radiation belts during periods of quiet geomagnetic activity
图 6 地磁活动强烈时期人工辐射带的径向扩散情况
Figure 6. The radial diffusion of artificial radiation belts during periods of intense geomagnetic activity
图 7 地磁活动平静时期人工辐射带的径向扩散情况
Figure 7. The radial diffusion of artificial radiation belts during periods of quiet geomagnetic activity
图 9 2012年10月7日至17日期间电子的能量和投掷角演化(L=5.5)
Figure 9. The evolution of electron energy and pitch angle distributions during October 7-17, 2012 (L=5.5)
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