Energetic electron precipitation driven by electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves from ELFIN's low altitude perspective

We review comprehensive observations of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave-driven energetic electron precipitation using data collected by the energetic electron detector on the Electron Losses and Fields InvestigatioN (ELFIN) mission, two polar-orbiting low-altitude spinning CubeSats, measuring 50-5000 keV electrons with good pitch-angle and energy resolution. EMIC wave-driven precipitation exhibits a distinct signature in energy-spectrograms of the precipitatingto- trapped ux ratio: peaks at >0.5 MeV which are abrupt (bursty) (lasting 17s, or L 0:56) with signicant substructure (occasionally down to sub-second timescale). We attribute the bursty nature of the precipitation to the spatial extent and structuredness of the wave eld at the equator. Multiple ELFIN passes over the same MLT sector allow us to study the spatial and temporal evolution of the EMIC wave - electron interaction region. Case studies employing conjugate ground-based or equatorial observations of the EMIC waves reveal that the energy of moderate and strong precipitation at ELFIN approximately agrees with theoretical expectations for cyclotron resonant interactions in a cold plasma. Using multiple years of ELFIN data uniformly distributed in local time, we assemble a statistical database of 50 events of strong EMIC wave-driven precipitation. Most reside at L 5 􀀀 7 at dusk, while a smaller subset exists at L 8 􀀀 12 at postmidnight. The energies of the peak-precipitation ratio and of the half-peak precipitation ratio (our proxy for the minimum resonance energy) exhibit an L-shell dependence in good agreement with theoretical estimates based on prior statistical observations of EMIC wave power spectra. The precipitation ratio's spectral shape for the most intense events has an exponential fallo away from the peak (i.e., on either side of 1:45 MeV). It too agrees well with quasi-linear diusion theory based on prior statistics of wave spectra. It should be noted though that this diusive treatment likely includes effects from nonlinear resonant interactions (especially at high energies) and nonresonant effects from sharp wave packet edges (at low energies). Sub-MeV electron precipitation observed concurrently with strong EMIC wave-driven >1MeV precipitation has a spectral shape that is consistent with effient pitch-angle scattering down to 200-300 keV by much less intense higher frequency EMIC waves at dusk (where such waves are most frequent). At 100 keV, whistler-mode chorus may be implicated in concurrent precipitation. These results conrm the critical role of EMIC waves in driving relativistic electron losses. Nonlinear effects may abound and require further investigation.