How Jupiter’s unusual magnetospheric topology structures its aurora

Zhang, Binzheng; Delamere, P. A.; Yao, Zhonghua; Bonfond, Bertrand; Lin, Dong; Sorathia, Kareem; Brambles, O. J.; Lotko, W.; Garretson, J.; Merkin, V. G.; Grodent, Denis; Dunn, W. R.; Lyon, J. G.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abd1204

Cited by 48 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Recently, Zhang et al. (2021) have also shown that the longitudinal width of footprint of blue field lines in Figure 1 is very narrow. It seems reasonable to draw only one Dungey cell in contact with the main oval, as in Cowley, Bunce, Stallard and Miller (2003).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…On the other hand, a different result is presented by Zhang et al (2021), showing downward FAC on closed field lines. In the present paper, all magenta field lines extend far into the lobe, but in Zhang et al (2021), many polar cap field lines connect to the opposite hemisphere passing through the evening frank. It is quite apparent that this difference is extremely serious.…”

Section: Interaction Between the Solar Wind And Rotating Magnetic Fieldmentioning

confidence: 89%

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Global Simulation of the Jovian Magnetosphere: Transitional Structure From the Io Plasma Disk to the Plasma Sheet

et al. 2021

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The structure and dynamics of the Jupiter's magnetosphere are very different from those of the earth. The planet's magnetic field is 14 times stronger than that of the earth. Such strong magnetic field and the dilute solar wind (Hanlon et al., 2004) result in the formation of a huge magnetosphere. In the Jovian magnetosphere, the average position of the bow shock is around 80 R J in front of the planet (Achilleos et al., 2004;Sarkango et al., 2019). The plasma sheet forms in the similar way as the Earth, but the plasma sheet mainly consists of plasma from the moon Io. The radius of Jupiter is 11 times larger than that of the Earth. The planetary rotation period is as short as 10 h. High-speed planetary rotation is also transmitted to Io plasma. The magnetic axis tilts about 10° from the rotation axis (Smyth et al., 2011). The shape of magnetic field deviates from the dipole, with an anomaly that provides a weak magnetic field region at high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere (Hess et al., 2011).Io's orbit is at 5.95 R J , where neutral gas is released. Diffusing gas is ionized, then about half is picked up by rotating magnetic field. The amount of plasma supplied from Io is 0.26-1.4 t/sec (Delamere & Bagenal, 2003). The plasma components from Io are O + , O ++ , S + , S ++ , S +++ , and Na + (Bodish et al., 2017;Kim et al., 2020). This Io source plasma plays a major role in constructing the inner magnetosphere, in forming the magnetosphere-ionosphere (M-I) coupling system. Io plasma forms the plasma disk in the inner magnetosphere (<15 R J ), and the plasma sheet in the middle tail (20 R J ∼ 60 R J ). Io source plasma is predominant over these regions (Cohen et al., 2001;Radioti et al., 2005). In the distant tail (>600 R J ), plasma originating from the solar wind is predominant (McComas et al., 2017).In the inner magnetosphere, Io plasma accumulates and becomes unstable when the density exceeds a certain level (Southwood & Kivelson, 1987). Through the interchange instability possibly caused by the

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Interaction Between the Solar Wind And Rotating Magnetic Fieldmentioning

confidence: 89%

Global Simulation of the Jovian Magnetosphere: Transitional Structure From the Io Plasma Disk to the Plasma Sheet

et al. 2021

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“…Polar auroral flares can be extremely dynamic, with their intensity increasing by orders of magnitude within 10 s (Waite et al, 2001). Recently, Zhang et al (2021) reveal that the magnetic field lines connecting the polar regions are helical and closed between the northern and southern ionospheres.…”

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confidence: 99%

Ultralow‐Frequency Waves in Driving Jovian Aurorae Revealed by Observations From HST and Juno

Pan

Yao

Manners

et al. 2021

Geophysical Research Letters

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Large‐scale electrical currents and Alfvénic waves are the two main drivers responsible for producing planetary aurorae. The relative contribution of each process is a central question in terrestrial auroral science, and poorly understood for other planets due to the relatively rare opportunity of in‐situ spacecraft measurements. Here, we present observations of Jupiter's aurorae from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) contemporaneous with Juno magnetometer measurements in the magnetosphere. For three successive days, we found that the magnetospheric ultralow‐frequency (ULF) wave activity (with periods of 1–60 min) was correlated with auroral power. This was especially true for the Alfvénic modes. We further performed a statistical analysis based on HST visits during Juno's third and seventh orbit, which revealed a systematic correlation between ULF wave and auroral activity. Our results imply that Alfvénic wave power could be an important source in driving Jupiter's aurorae, as theoretically predicted.

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“…Although reported in similar region within the polar aurora as the features discussed here, the difference in morphology, typical brightness, feature growth as well as periodic behavior suggest a different origin. They found these repetitive spots to corotate with Jupiter, ruling out their potential noon‐facing magnetospheric cusp‐related origin, although the non‐trivial magnetic field topology in that region might complicate the picture (Zhang et al., 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection and Characterization of Circular Expanding UV‐Emissions Observed in Jupiter's Polar Auroral Regions

et al. 2021

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The magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling at Jupiter produces the brightest UV aurora in the solar system. These emissions result from precipitating charged particles at high latitudes. Extensive monitoring of these emissions using Earth-orbiting observatories, as well as flyby and orbiting spacecrafts, revealed that they can be used as a remote proxy for various magnetospheric processes. The different components of the auroral emissions reflect the various processes occurring throughout the magnetosphere. They range from the lower latitude auroral emissions caused by the satellite-magnetodisk interactions, to the high-latitude polar auroral emissions, related to the outer magnetosphere dynamics as well as the interaction region with the solar wind (e.g.,

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How Jupiter’s unusual magnetospheric topology structures its aurora

Cited by 48 publications

References 65 publications

Global Simulation of the Jovian Magnetosphere: Transitional Structure From the Io Plasma Disk to the Plasma Sheet

Global Simulation of the Jovian Magnetosphere: Transitional Structure From the Io Plasma Disk to the Plasma Sheet

Ultralow‐Frequency Waves in Driving Jovian Aurorae Revealed by Observations From HST and Juno

Detection and Characterization of Circular Expanding UV‐Emissions Observed in Jupiter's Polar Auroral Regions

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