Magnetosonic (MS) waves have been found capable of creating radiation belt electron butterfly distributions in the inner magnetosphere. To investigate the physical nature of the interactions between radiation belt electrons and MS waves, and to explore a preferential condition for MS waves to scatter electrons efficiently, we performed a comprehensive parametric study of MS wave‐electron interactions using test particle simulations. The diffusion coefficients simulated by varying the MS wave frequency show that the scattering effect of MS waves is frequency insensitive at low harmonics (f < 20 fcp), which has great implications on modeling the electron scattering caused by MS waves with harmonic structures. The electron scattering caused by MS waves is very sensitive to wave normal angles, and MS waves with off 90° wave normal angles scatter electrons more efficiently. By simulating the diffusion coefficients and the electron phase space density evolution at different L shells under different plasma environment circumstances, we find that MS waves can readily produce electron butterfly distributions in the inner part of the plasmasphere where the ratio of electron plasma‐to‐gyrofrequency (fpe/fce) is large, while they may essentially form a two‐peak distribution outside the plasmapause and in the inner radiation belt where fpe/fce is small.

Numerical study of electromagnetic (EM) wave transmission through the magnetized plasma layer is presented in this paper. The plasma parameters are derived from computational fluid dynamics simulation of the flow field around a blunt body flying at supersonic speed and serve as the background plasma condition in the numerical modeling for EM wave transmission. The EM wave is generated by our newly designed coaxial feed GPS patch antenna. The external magnetic field is applied and assumed to vary linearly as a function of wall distance. The effects of the external applied magnetic field and the plasma parameters on wave transmission are studied, and the results show that EM wave propagation in the non-uniformly magnetized plasma is a matter of impedance matching, and the EM wave transmission can be adjusted only when the proper strength of the magnetic field is applied.