| Issue |
EPL
Volume 151, Number 1, July 2025
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 14003 | |
| Number of page(s) | 5 | |
| Section | Nuclear and plasma physics, particles and fields | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/ade73b | |
| Published online | 18 July 2025 | |
Geometry-driven transport and heating of trapped particles in magnetospheric plasmas
Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Warwick - Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
Received: 25 April 2025
Accepted: 23 June 2025
This paper develops a geometry-based framework for trapped-particle dynamics in planetary magnetospheres by casting the guiding-center Hamiltonian in Frenet-Serret coordinates, so that field-line curvature and torsion drive particle drifts and adiabatic invariants. Envelope equations then capture ensemble phase-space widths, oscillations and equilibrium scaling under geometric focusing. A minimal Lorentzian diffusion term reproduces resonant, wave-driven drift-shell broadening. Numerical tests on ideal dipole fields confirm the predicted scalings for curvature effects, drift-shell width, envelope oscillation frequencies and broadening rates. This approach bridges microscopic Hamiltonian dynamics and macroscopic transport, and can be extended to realistic field geometries and in situ wave measurements for radiation-belt modeling.
© 2025 The author(s)
Published by the EPLA under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY). Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.