Precipitation of suprathermal (100 EV) Electrons by oblique whistler waves

Electron precipitation induced by oblique whistler waves is investigated using a new test particle simulation code based on gyro‐averaged equations of motion. Results indicate that highly oblique waves can efficiently pitch angle scatter suprathermal electrons (10–100 eV). At L = 3, for example, in a single encounter with a wave with power density S ∼ 8 pW/m2 and propagating at ψ = 60° with respect to the Earth magnetic field Bo, average pitch angle scattering of 100 eV electrons is ∼ 0.1°. In comparison, the average scattering of energetic (100 keV) electrons by a parallel propagating wave with the same S is ∼ 0.01°. Estimates indicate that the precipitated electron energy fluxes resulting from the interaction of ∼ 100 eV electrons with oblique waves can be up to 30 times larger than that due to the precipitation of 100 keV electrons by parallel propagating waves.