Jupiter's Interferometric Mapping of HCN(3-2) with the SMA

Details Jupiter's Interferometric Mapping of HCN(3-2) with the SMA Jupiter's Interferometric Mapping of HCN(3-2) with the SMA

Oct 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007dps....39.0901m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #39, #9.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.423

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Since comet Shoemaker-Levy-9 collided with Jupiter in 1994, we have regularly observed Jupiter at millimeter/submillimeter wavelengths. Molecular trace species such as HCN, CO, CS have been detected in the upper atmosphere since the collision. Recently, Moreno etal 2006 have shown a clear decrease of the HCN (and also CS and CO) total mass by a factor 8, between 1998 and 2006. Moreover, these sensitive observations of Jupiter were unable to detect chemical daughter molecules such as CH3CN, H2CO, H2CS, CH3OH. The upper limits of these searched molecules are well below their expected abundances if the mass loss process is only photochemical. In order to study the origin of the mass loss process, we searched to constrain the HCN spatial distribution by observing Jupiter with the Sub-Millimeter-Array, on May 2007.
We used only six elements, aligned in a special short-spacing configuration. Observations were obtained in the HCN(3-2) rotational lines at 265.9 GHz with a spectral resolution of 0.2 MHz, allowing us to resolve the linewidth ( 4 MHz). Jupiter's angular diameter was equal to 43" and our spatial resolution was 5".
The obtained maps clearly show a lack of HCN close to the poles at latitudes > 55 degres. The two hemispheres are quite similar (e.g. no obvious N/S differences). Our map is in good agreement with those obtained in 2000 on HCN at infrared wavelength (Lellouch etal 2006, Griffith etal 2004). The lack of HCN at polar latitudes between 2000 and 2007 indicate a spatial stability, which could be due to the presence of a polar vortex. Thus, in the view of our new maps, we think that a strong downward transport in the polar regions of Jupiter' high stratosphere is the main mechanism of the HCN, CS and CO mass loss.
The observations analysis and interpretation will be presented.

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