Simulation of the outer radiation belt electrons near geosynchronous orbit including both radial diffusion and resonant interaction with Whistler‐mode chorus waves

We present the first simulation results for electrons in the outer radiation belt near geosynchronous orbit, where radial diffusion and resonant interactions with whistler‐mode chorus outside the plasmasphere are taken into account. Bounce averaged pitch‐angle and energy diffusion rates are introduced in the Salammbô code for L ≤ 6.5, for electron energies between 10 keV and 3 MeV and fpe / fce values between 1.5 and 10. Results show that an initial seed population with a power law (Kappa) distribution and a characteristic plasmasheet energy of ∼5 keV can be accelerated up to a few MeV, for 4.5 < L < 6.6 and give a steady state profile similar to the one obtained from average satellite measurements. For a Kp = 4 magnetic storm simulation MeV electron fluxes increase by more than a factor of 10 on a timescale of 1 day. We conclude that whistler‐mode chorus waves can be a major electron acceleration process at geostationary orbit.