Proton flux under radiation belts: near-equatorial zone

In this work the features of low-energy proton flux increases in near-equatorial region (McIlvein parameter L<1.15) are investigated. Since Azur satellite measurements at the end of 60th the proton flux (with energy from tens keV up to several MeV) increases are registering regularly. However modern proton flux models (for example AP8 model) works at L>1.15 only and does not take into account near-equatorial protons. These fluxes are not too big, but the investigation of this phenomenon is important in scope of atmosphere-ionosphere connections and mechanisms of particles transport in magnetosphere. In according to double charge-exchange model the proton flux in near-equatorial region does not depend on geomagnetic local time (MLT) and longitude. However the Azur satellite data and Kosmos-484, MIR station and Active satellite data revealed the proton flux dependence on longitude. The other feature of near-equatorial proton flux is the dependence on geomagnetic local time revealed in the Sampex satellite experiment and other experiments listed above. In this work the dependences on MLT and longitude are investigated using the Active satellite (30-500 keV) and Sampex satellite (>800 keV). This data confirms that main sources of near-equatorial protons are radiation belts and ring current. The other result is that near-equatorial protons are quasi-trapped. The empirical proton flux dependences on L, B at near-equatorial longitudes are presented. (author)