Synthetic Empirical Chorus Wave Model From Combined Van Allen Probes and Cluster Statistics

Abstract Chorus waves are among the most important natural electromagnetic emissions in the magnetosphere as regards to their potential effects on electron dynamics. They can efficiently accelerate or precipitate electrons trapped in the outer radiation belt, producing either fast increases of relativistic particle fluxes or auroras at high latitudes. Accurately modeling their effects, however, requires detailed models of their wave power and obliquity distribution as a function of geomagnetic activity in a particularly wide spatial domain, rarely available based solely on the statistics obtained from only one satellite mission. Here we seize the opportunity of synthesizing data from the Van Allen Probes and Cluster spacecraft to provide a new comprehensive chorus wave model in the outer radiation belt. The respective spatial coverages of these two missions are shown to be especially complementary and further allow a good cross calibration in the overlap domain. We used 4 years (2012–2016) of Van Allen Probes VLF data in the chorus frequency range up to 12 kHz at latitudes lower than 20°, combined with 10 years of Cluster VLF measurements up to 4 kHz in order to provide a full coverage of geomagnetic latitudes up to 45° in the chorus frequency range 0.1fce–0.8fce. The resulting synthetic statistical model of chorus wave amplitude, obliquity, and frequency is presented in the form of analytical functions of latitude and Kp in three different magnetic local time sectors and for two ranges of L shells outside the plasmasphere. Such a synthetic and reliable chorus model is crucially important for accurately modeling global acceleration and loss of electrons over the long run in the outer radiation belt, allowing a comprehensive description of electron flux variations over a very wide energy range.