A two-stage mechanism for escape of NA and K from Io

Computer Science

Scientific paper

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Atmospheric Composition, Io, Potassium, Satellite Atmospheres, Sodium, Space Plasmas, Sulfur Dioxides, Sputtering, Toroidal Plasmas, Voyager 1 Spacecraft, Jupiter, Satellites, Io, Escape, Sodium, Potassium, Photochemistry, Atmosphere, Sulfur Dioxide, Vapor Pressure, Temperature, Plasma, Torus, Sputtering, Ejection, Ions, Particles, Data, Flux

Scientific paper

A two-stage process is presented to identify Io as the source of Na and K ions in the Io plasma torus. The Voyager I IRIS experiment recorded an SO2 abundance of 0.2 cm atm in the Io subsolar region, and further calculations determined that the S(+) and O(+) would have sufficient energy to penetrate the Io atmosphere and produce sputtering of surface atoms at a rate of 800 million/sq cm per sec. If K, Na, and S are present on the surface in cosmic proportions, then an evenly applied sputter distribution would produce the same abundances of sputtered Na and K as observed in the Na and K clouds around Io. Sputtered into the atmosphere, the ions undergo thermal Jean's escape and attain velocities of at least 2.6 km/sec. The sputtering ions are a factor of two greater on the Jupiter side than on the solar side, in agreement with asymmetries measured by the Voyager.

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