Earth's slot region, lying between the outer and inner radiation belts, has been identified as due to a balance between inward radial diffusion and pitch angle (PA) scattering induced by waves. However, recent satellite observations and modeling studies indicate that cosmic ray albedo neutron decay (CRAND) may also play a significant role in energetic electron dynamics in the slot region. In this study, using a drift‐diffusion‐source model, we investigate the relative contribution of all significant waves and CRAND to the dynamics of energetic electrons in the slot region during July 2014, an extended period of quiet geomagnetic activity. The bounce‐averaged PA diffusion coefficients from three types of waves (hiss, lightning‐generated whistlers [LGW], and very low frequency [VLF] transmitters) are calculated based on quasi‐linear theory, while the CRAND source follows the results in Xiang et al. (2019, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081730). The simulation results indicate that both LGW and VLF transmitter waves can enhance loss and weaken the top hat PA distribution induced by hiss waves. For 470 keV electrons at L = 2.5, simulation results without CRAND show a much quicker decrease than observations from the Van Allen Probes. After including CRAND, simulated electron flux variations reproduce satellite observations, suggesting that CRAND is an important source for hundreds of keV electrons in the slot region during quiet times. The balance between the CRAND source and loss due to wave‐particle interactions provides a lower limit to relativistic electron fluxes in the slot region, which can act as an important reference point for instrument calibration when a true background level is warranted.

中文翻译：

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地磁安静期间缝隙区域中高能电子的动力学：由于波粒相互作用而产生的损耗与宇宙射线反照率中子衰变（CRAND）的来源有关

位于内部辐射带和内部辐射带之间的地球缝隙区域已被确定为是由于向内径向扩散和由波引起的俯仰角（PA）散射之间的平衡。但是，最近的卫星观测和建模研究表明，宇宙射线反照率中子衰变（CRAND）在缝隙区域的高能电子动力学中也可能起重要作用。在这项研究中，我们使用漂移扩散源模型，研究了所有重要波和CRAND对狭缝地磁活动的延长期2014年7月期间缝隙区域中高能电子动力学的相对贡献。根据准线性理论，计算了三种波（嘶嘶声，雷电哨声[LGW]和甚低频[VLF]发射器）的反弹平均PA扩散系数，而CRAND来源遵循Xiang等人的结果。（2019，https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081730）。仿真结果表明，LGW和VLF发射机波均可增加损耗，并减弱由Hiss波引起的高顶PA分布。对于470 keV电子L  = 2.5，没有CRAND的仿真结果显示比从Van Allen Probes观察到的下降更快。包括CRAND之后，模拟的电子通量变化重现了卫星观测结果，表明CRAND是在安静时期隙区中数百个keV电子的重要来源。CRAND源和由于波粒相互作用而造成的损耗之间的平衡为狭缝区域中的相对论电子通量提供了一个下限，当需要真实背景水平时，它可以作为仪器校准的重要参考点。