Physics
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008epsc.conf..955c&link_type=abstract
European Planetary Science Congress 2008, Proceedings of the conference held 21-25 September, 2008 in Münster, Germany. Online a
Physics
Scientific paper
In Io's reference frame, the downstream distribution of various physical quantities in Io's plasma wake can be regarded as unchangeable with respect to time. A magnetic flux tube in a specific position in the wake can be related to a state of its evolution after been perturbed by Io. Thus the investigation of the wake can be transferred to the study of an Io-perturbed flux tube in the Jovian corotational frame. A magnetohydrodynamics approach called "The theory of a thin filament motion" is employed here. Our simulations suggest that the underlying physics possesses the characteristics typical for both Alfvén wave and corotational lag models. An upstream-coming flux tube must be in contact with Io for approximately 500 seconds, until a tilt angle of about 4 degrees has been developed, before it is released downstream. A perturbed flux tube would undergo a subcorotational motion in Io's plasma wake. This motion is inevitably modulated by Alfvén wave bouncing back and forth inside the Io plasma torus. The scale of the subcorotation region is in the order of one Jovian radius. The distribution of the simulated field-aligned currents downstream is consistent with the observed wake aurora brightness profile; in particular, the periodic structure in the current distribution is in agreement with recent infrared and FUV observations showing the presence of secondary spots in the auroral emissions.
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