The Io-Jupiter interaction is a large source of Alfvénic wave energy that propagates to high latitudes and results in auroral emissions. We use a self-consistent two-dimensional hybrid gyrofluid-kinetic electron (GKE) model in a dipolar topology to simulate this wave energy propagation along the Io flux tube and examine the resulting wave-electron interactions. At high latitudes the...
We are currently working on a book on Ganymede, which shall be publihed with Cambridge University Press. A group of various authors are working on a total of 21 chapters reviewing the science done at Ganymede. This book is considered to become a reference book for scientists on e.g. the JUICE mission and an introduction book for young scientists deciding to join the Jovian research community.
Io losses ~ 1 ton/sec of neutral material through the interaction of the plasma of the torus and its atmosphere.
This canonical loss rate is based on estimates of the ion supply to the torus provided by electron impact ionization of neutrals and is used as a source rate for the simulations of the large neutral clouds (S and O) extending along Io’s orbit.
But the actual processes causing the...
In anticipation of the upcoming missions JUICE and Europa Clipper, we have built a 3D Io plasma torus emission model in order to simulate what we would expect to see from both UVS instruments looking at the Io plasma torus. The Colorado Io Torus Emission Package 2 (CITEP 2) calculates the line of sight given the position of each spatial pixel and pointing of the spacecraft and produces a...
We report the results of model simulations performed to explain the nature of a recently detected sodium emission feature in Io Neutral Clouds via high resolution spectroscopic observations from the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) Italian telescope. The emission feature is blueshifted compared to the main emission (the banana-shaped Neutral Cloud) by a few tens of km/s, and it is most...
Jupiter is an intense source of Auroral Radio Emissions (AREs). Such emissions are produced by a resonance between non-relativistic electrons gyrating along Jupiter’s magnetic field lines and electromagnetic waves, known as the Cyclotron-maser instability. The Jovian AREs in the Decametric (DAM) wavelength range can be detected from ground-based radiotelescopes above the cut-off frequency of...
This study examines the bombardment of energetic magnetospheric electrons onto Ganymede as a function of Jovian magnetic latitude. We use the output from a hybrid model to constrain features of the electromagnetic environment during the G1, G8, and G28 Galileo encounters when Ganymede was far above, within, or far below Jupiter's magnetospheric current sheet, respectively. To quantify electron...
