Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agufm.p12a0494s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001, abstract #P12A-0494
Physics
2756 Planetary Magnetospheres (5443, 5737, 6030), 5421 Interactions With Particles And Fields, 5443 Magnetospheres (2756), 5737 Magnetospheres (2756), 6218 Jovian Satellites
Scientific paper
The observations of auroral arcs downstream of Io's magnetic footprint suggest electrons must be accelerated, probably by field-aligned electric fields. A large-scale model of magnetic field-aligned electric fields in the upward current region of the Io-related Jovian aurora will be presented. This model is based on a 1-D spatial, 2-D velocity static Vlasov simulation under the constraint of quasi-neutrality. Localized electric potential drops are formed at 2-3 RJ. The width of the electric potential drop is much narrower than the spacial grid size resulting a sharp discontinuity. When the secondary electron density is high enough, an auroral cavity is obtained where the ionospheric protons and Io electrons are dominated. Owing to the parallel electric field, an unstable horseshoe electron distribution is formed inside the auroral cavity, which may easily trigger the shell electron-cyclotron maser instability. The results suggest parallel electric fields to be fundamental particle acceleration mechanism and the source mechanism of Io-controlled decametric radio emissions. Moreover, H+ ions in the Io plasma torus may be an important factor to require larger parallel electric fields and accelerate electrons to higher energies.
Bagenal Fran
Ergun Robert E.
Su Yuehua
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