Source altitudes and heating properties of electron conics observed at high altitudes by the Arase satellite

Abstract Electron conics are a distinct type of electron distribution observed in Earth’s magnetosphere, characterized by enhanced fluxes of upgoing electrons at several-keV energies, particularly in the auroral acceleration region. This study analyzes high-altitude (27,000–32,000 km) observations made by the Arase satellite to investigate the characteristics of electron conics after passing through the heating region, employing the high angular resolution of the low-energy particle experiments—electron analyzer (LEPe) onboard the satellite. We analyzed eight electron conic events between 2017 and 2022 to estimate their source altitudes using mirror ratios and potential differences and by comparing pre- and post-heating data to investigate heating properties. Our results show that the source region of conics has an upper boundary at 9,000–14,000 km, with the peak flux originating from a central altitude of 3,000–7,000 km. This region spatially coincides with the source of auroral kilometric radiation (AKR): the central altitude of the source of conics corresponds to the lower boundary of the AKR source, suggesting that a longer residence time of particles within the AKR source region leads to stronger heating. The comparison of pre- and post-heating populations demonstrated that upgoing conic electrons exhibit higher temperatures and lower densities. The number flux remains conserved, indicating the energization of a magnetospheric population, whereas the energy flux is enhanced by up to a factor of four, significantly higher than that reported in previous studies. A test particle simulation, using observed plasma parameters and incorporating stochastic perpendicular heating, reproduces the main features of observed conics in terms of both energy and pitch angle. Our simulation shows that electron conics evolve into narrow, field-aligned beams at higher altitudes, suggesting that some of the anti-Earthward-flowing beams observed in the magnetotail may actually be unresolved conics. These findings contribute to the understanding of energy transport between the auroral acceleration region and the magnetotail and show the importance of high-angular-resolution instrumentation. Graphical Abstract