Precipitation of magnetospheric electrons into the Earth’s atmosphere and the electrons of the outer radiation belt

Abstract

More than 500 X-ray emission events generated by precipitating electrons from the outer radiation belt have been recorded in the Earth’s atmosphere over the many years of the Lebedev Physical Institute observing fluxes of ionized radiation. This precipitation is closely related to high-velocity solar wind streams, whose rate of occurrence, like that of precipitation events, is greatest during the decline phase of the 11-year solar activity cycle. This work considers the relationship between the high-velocity solar wind, the relativistic electron fluxes in the outer radiation belt, and the electron precipitation observed in the polar atmosphere.