Electron pitch-angle diffusion: resonant scattering by waves vs.nonadiabatic effects

International audienceIn this paper we investigate the electron pitchanglediffusion coefficients in the night-side inner magnetospherearound the geostationary orbit (L 7) due to magneticfield deformation. We compare the effects of resonantwave–particle scattering by lower band chorus waves and theadiabaticity violation of electron motion due to the strongcurvature of field lines in the vicinity of the equator. Fora realistic magnetic field configuration, the nonadiabatic effectsare more important than the wave–particle interactionsfor high energy (> 1 MeV) electrons. For smaller energy,the scattering by waves is more effective than nonadiabaticone. Moreover, the role of nonadiabatic effects increases withparticle energy. Therefore, to model electron scattering andtransport in the night-side inner magnetosphere, it is importantto take into account the peculiarities of high-energy electrondynamics