Determining Electron Density, Pressure, and Temperature in Jupiter's Plasma Sheet Using the Galileo Plasma Wave Instrument

Details Determining Electron Density, Pressure, and Temperature in Jupiter's Plasma Sheet Using the Galileo Plasma Wave Instrument Determining Electron Density, Pressure, and Temperature in Jupiter's Plasma Sheet Using the Galileo Plasma Wave Instrument

May 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agusm..sm32d04a&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2001, abstract #SM32D-04

Physics

2740 Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics, 2764 Plasma Sheet, 2772 Plasma Waves And Instabilities

Scientific paper

The plasma wave instrument on board the Galileo spacecraft can be used to determine electron density in Jupiter's magnetosphere. Ordinary mode radio waves are often detected in the form of non-thermal continuum radiation trapped in the magnetosphere at frequencies above the electron plasma frequency. By identifying the low-frequency cutoff of continuum radiation as the plasma frequency, an upper limit to the local electron density can be calculated. This technique has been used with the Galileo plasma wave data to provide an electron density data set with approximately 37-second time resolution. Continuum radiation is detected by the plasma wave instrument in much of Galileo's primary mission and electron density can be calculated at all System-III longitudes and radial distances beyond about 20-25 RJ. The density data set created using this technique is used here in conjunction with data from the Galileo magnetometer instrument and with Khurana's 1998 mathematical model of Jupiter's plasma sheet to study pressure balance in the plasma sheet. As Jupiter rotates, the spacecraft encounters the plasma sheet and crosses the entire sheet from north to south, or south to north, in under five hours. Assuming there are no time dependent variations in the plasma sheet on this time scale, and negligible curvature to the magnetic field lines in this region, the sum of magnetic pressure and particle pressure across the plasma sheet should stay constant. Using electron density and magnetic field data, and varying the temperature parameter, best fits for the total constant pressure and the corresponding temperature can be determined. These values can be determined throughout Jupiter's magnetosphere yielding pressure and temperature profiles of Jupiter's plasma sheet between about 20 and 140 RJ. Typical temperatures determined using this technique are about 108 K, corresponding to energies of about 10 keV. The total pressure decreases with radial distance from Jupiter as a power law proportional to r-2.1.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Determining Electron Density, Pressure, and Temperature in Jupiter's Plasma Sheet Using the Galileo Plasma Wave Instrument does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Determining Electron Density, Pressure, and Temperature in Jupiter's Plasma Sheet Using the Galileo Plasma Wave Instrument, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Determining Electron Density, Pressure, and Temperature in Jupiter's Plasma Sheet Using the Galileo Plasma Wave Instrument will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1277549