Acceleration of Particles to High Energies in Earth’s Radiation Belts

Discovered in 1958, Earth’s radiation belts persist in being mysterious and unpredictable. This highly dynamic region of near-Earth space provides an important natural laboratory for studying the physics of particle acceleration. Despite the proximity of the radiation belts to Earth, many questions remain about the mechanisms responsible for rapidly energizing particles to relativistic energies there. The importance of understanding the radiation belts continues to grow as society becomes increasingly dependent on spacecraft for navigation, weather forecasting, and more. We review the historical underpinning and observational basis for our current understanding of particle acceleration in the radiation belts.