Temporal evolution of whistler growth in a cold plasma injection experiment

Using a simple time dependent cold plasma density model and assuming a typical ambient radiation belt environment, we study the evolution of the whistler mode turbulence and particle precipitation in a cold plasma release experiment similar to one that may be conducted as part of the Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers (AMPTE) program. It is known from earlier work that the release of cold lithium ions can significantly lower the critical energy E c above which the resonant radiation belt electrons can pitch angle scatter. We study the time evolution of the one pass gain factor for a whistler wave packet and find that for parameters accessible to AMPTE type experiments the gain factor is large enough to ensure strong whistler turbulence and strong pitch angle diffusion of radiation belt particles with energies in the range between the ambient value of E c and the reduced value of E c . Estimates for the total power input to the ionospheric footprint of the release are of the order of an erg/cm²/s. This precipitated energy should produce a patch of visible aurora. This effect should also persist for many hours.