Magnetospheric Convection With Periodic Plasma Ejections at Jupiter and Saturn

Details Magnetospheric Convection With Periodic Plasma Ejections at Jupiter and Saturn Magnetospheric Convection With Periodic Plasma Ejections at Jupiter and Saturn

Dec 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufmsm23a0292f&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #SM23A-0292

Physics

2700 Magnetospheric Physics (6939), 2760 Plasma Convection (2463), 6220 Jupiter, 6275 Saturn

Scientific paper

We have used a three-dimensional global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation to investigate the response of the magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn to changes in the solar wind dynamic pressure and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). In our Jupiter simulations we found that plasmoids (magnetic O-type neutral lines) were periodically ejected down the tail for a northward IMF. The results were similar to the periodic flow bursts observed by the Galileo Energetic Particles Detector (EPD). We carried out a series of numerical experiments to determine the reasons for this periodic behavior and found that it is controlled by the solar wind. Plasmoids are ejected periodically for small solar wind dynamic pressure coupled with small IMF magnitude. If we increase either the pressure or the field magnitude the periodic behavior ends. The solar wind controls the periodicity by controlling where the tail neutral line forms. If the neutral line forms too far from Jupiter the reconnected flux tubes exit the flanks of the tail. If it forms too close the reconnected flux tubes join the rotating flux and just go around Jupiter. Reconnection occurs more than once creating periodic plasmoid ejection when the X-line occurs far enough away from the current sheet that flux tubes can go around Jupiter and reenter the tail. Next we simulated Saturn's rapidly rotating magnetosphere and found that for northward IMF it has several states. After the IMF first turns northward, dayside reconnection is followed by the ejection of a plasmoid. Then the magnetosphere reconnects steadily for several hours. Next the magnetic field lines start extending down the tail on both the dawn and dusk sides. This is followed by plasma ejection with a period of about one hour. This behavior does not depend on solar wind dynamic pressure changes and the initial conditions before the northward IMF was added. In this presentation we will show the results of the global 3D MHD simulation of Jupiter's and Saturn's magnetospheres and discuss the periodic plasmoid ejection and magnetospheric convection related to the ejections.

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