GEM: Observational Tests of Radiation Belt Theories and Models in the Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) Inner Magnetosphere Storms Campaign

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This research program will test current theories and models of the radiation belts by comparing the theoretical and model results with observational data obtained from the NASA Polar satellite and the GPS satellites. It will develop statistical descriptions of the particle pitch angle distributions for different L-shells and different local times as a function of the phase of a magnetic storm. This will make it possible to distinguish among competing theories for the transport and loss of relativistic electrons. It will also determine which mechanisms dominate the transport and loss processes under different conditions. In addition, the project will develop time-dependent phase space density profiles for the events selected for study in the Geospace Environment Modeling campaign on the inner magnetosphere and magnetic storms. These profiles will be made available to the space physics community to help establish an understanding of when and where relativistic electron acceleration is occurring. The profiles will also be useful in constraining the theoretical work currently being done.