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AGU: Journal of Geophysical Research, Space Physics

 

Keywords

  • stochastic modeling
  • multidimensional diffusion
  • radiation belts
  • parallel propagation approximation

Index Terms

  • Magnetospheric Physics: Radiation belts
  • Magnetospheric Physics: Energetic particles: trapped
  • Magnetospheric Physics: Numerical modeling
  • Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetosphere: inner
Abstract
Cited By (0)
 

Abstract

Stochastic modeling of multidimensional diffusion in the radiation belts

Xin Tao

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

Anthony A. Chan

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

Jay M. Albert

Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate, Hanscom Air Force Base, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA

James A. Miller

Department of Physics, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

A new code for solving radiation belt diffusion equations has been developed and applied to the 2-D bounce-averaged energy pitch angle quasi-linear diffusion equation. The code uses Monte Carlo methods to solve Itô stochastic differential equations (SDEs) which are mathematically equivalent to radiation belt diffusion equations. We show that our SDE code solves the diffusion equation with off-diagonal diffusion coefficients in contrast to standard finite difference codes which are generally unstable when off-diagonal diffusion coefficients are included. Our results are in excellent agreement with previous results. We have also investigated effects of assuming purely parallel propagating electromagnetic waves when calculating the diffusion coefficients and find that this assumption leads to errors of more than an order of magnitude in flux at some equatorial pitch angles for the specific chorus wave model we use. Further work is needed to investigate the sensitivity of our results to the wave model parameters. Generalization of the method to 3-D is straightforward, thus making this method a very promising new way to investigate the relative roles of pitch angle, energy, and radial diffusion in radiation belt dynamics.

Received 7 December 2007; accepted 30 April 2008; published 22 July 2008.

Citation: Tao, X., A. A. Chan, J. M. Albert, and J. A. Miller (2008), Stochastic modeling of multidimensional diffusion in the radiation belts, J. Geophys. Res., 113, A07212, doi:10.1029/2007JA012985.

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