Evidence for beam-stimulated precipitation of high energy electrons

This chapter discusses two observations in which an electron beam apparently stimulated the precipitation of high energy electrons from the deep magnetosphere. The X ray results from the Araks and Trigger experiments are compared in terms of beam physics. The examined observations were obtained from rocketboosted, parachute-borne X ray bremsstrahlung detectors which were initially deployed at an altitude of 80 km near the foot of the flux tubes affected by each experiment. The X ray detectors provided the capability for remote sensing of energetic electron precipitation which might not be measured by the electron detectors on the F region payloads. It is concluded that one of the processes which artificial electron beams injected from the ionosphere can stimulate in the magnetosphere is the pitch angle scattering and precipitation of higher energy electrons via a particle-wave-particle interaction