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Letter

Nature Physics 3, 614–617 (1 September 2007) | doi:10.1038/nphys655

The energization of relativistic electrons in the outer Van Allen radiation belt

Yue Chen , Geoffrey D. Reeves & Reiner H. W. Friedel

The origin and dynamics of the Van Allen radiation belts is one of the longest-standing questions of the space age, and one that is increasingly important for space applications as satellite systems become more sophisticated, smaller and more susceptible to radiation effects. The precise mechanism by which the Earth|[rsquo]|s magnetosphere is able to accelerate electrons from thermal to ultrarelativistic energies (E|[Gt]|0.5|[thinsp]|MeV) has been particularly difficult to definitively resolve.