Energetic Electron Pitch Angle Diffusion due to Whistler Wave during Terrestrial Storms

A concise and elegant expression of cyclotron harmonic resonant quasi-pure pitch-angle diffusion is constructed for the parallel whistler mode waves, and the quasi-linear diffusion coefficient is prescribed in terms of the whistler mode wave spectral intensity. Numerical computations are performed for the specific case of energetic electrons interacting with a band of frequency of whistler mode turbulence at L approx 3. It is found that the quasi-pure pitch-angle diffusion driven by the whistler mode scatters energetic electrons from the larger pitch-angles into the loss cone, and causes pitch-angle distribution to evolve from the pancake-shaped before the terrestrial storms to the flat-top during the main phase. This probably accounts for the quasi-isotropic pitch-angle distribution observed by the combined release and radiation effects satellite spacecraft at L approx 3.