Latitudinal distribution and propagation of lightning-generated whistler: A statistical study by Van Allen Probes observation and ray-tracing simulation

Lightning-generated whistler (LGW) is an important electromagnetic wave in the magnetosphere, causing energetic electron losses. Here we analyze the LGW distribution and propagation using Van Allen Probes data and ray-tracing simulation. The statistics show that LGW occurs more frequently at L<2.5 with higher amplitudes in the northern hemisphere. The Poynting flux demonstrates that LGW originates from both hemispheres within L∼2.5, and propagates into the space as the wave power decays. The wave normal angle distributions indicate that LGW propagates quasi-parallel to the field line near its source and becomes oblique as the magnetic latitude decreases. Furthermore, we use the ray-tracing model to simulate the LGW propagation, and statistically analyze the propagation characteristics of LGW, which are consistent with the observational data. This paper presents the latitudinal distribution and propagation properties of LGW based on statistics for the first time, providing new insights into the LGW generation and evolution in the magnetosphere.