Auroral electron precipitation when the trapped radiation region collapsed during the main phase of the geomagnetic storm of May 15, 2005

The simultaneous measurements of the boundary of the trapped radiation region, where auroral electrons precipitate, on the Meteor-3M satellite (the circular polar orbit at an altitude of ∼1000 km) and the westward electrojet dynamics during the main phase of a strong (Dst = −263 nT) magnetic storm that occurred on May 15, 2005, are analyzed. At the end of the first hour of the storm main phase, the nightside boundary of the trapped radiation region and the peak of the precipitating electron fluxes with a energies of ∼1 keV shifted toward the Earth to L ∼ 3. The westward electrojet center approached the same L shell. Near the boundary of the trapped radiation region, the auroral electron spectrum had the shape of typical inverted V. The differential spectrum maximum shifted to an energy of ∼100 eV, when the latitude decreased by ∼1°. The nightside boundary of the trapped radiation region, the electron precipitation equatorward boundary, and the westward electrojet center are compared with the known empirical dependences of the position of these structures on the Dst variation amplitude.