Abstract Flash aurora driven by an isolated chorus element can be a useful ionospheric indicator for identifying the source wave properties via wave-particle interactions. Using ground observation and modeling approaches, here we report the temporal characteristics of flash aurora that depend on the chorus frequency width and the sweep rate. We found that the contraction time increases more than the expansion time in patchy auroral variations, due to the difference in the minimum electron energies resonated with the chorus wave packet away from the equatorial source to higher latitudes. Especially, the contraction time strongly depends on the higher-frequency chorus waves due to cyclotron resonance with lower-energy electrons. The model calculations support that the chorus element ranges from lower-band to upper-band frequencies with respect to half the gyrofrequency at the exact generation region. Our study provides the prompt (milliseconds) chorus-driven electron dynamics through the spatiotemporal characteristics of flash aurora in the ionosphere.