A Global Survey of Geospace Electrons with eVlasiator: First Results

Models of the geospace plasma environment have been proceeding towards more realistic descriptions of the solar wind—magnetosphere interaction, from gas-dynamic to MHD and hybrid ion-kinetic models such as the state-of-the-art Vlasiator model. Advances in computational capabilities have enabled global simulations of detailed physics, but the electron scale has so far been out of reach in a truly global setting. 

In this work we present results from eVlasiator, an offshoot of the Vlasiator model, showing first results from a global 2D+3V kinetic electron geospace simulation. Despite truncation of some electron physics and use of ion-scale spatial resolution, we show that realistic electron distribution functions are obtainable within the magnetosphere and describe these in relation to MMS observations. Electron precipitation to the upper atmosphere from these velocity distributions is estimated.