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Heavy Ion Charge States in Jupiter's Polar Magnetosphere Inferred From Auroral Megavolt Electric Potentials

Authors :
Clark, G.
Mauk, B. H.
Kollmann, P.
Paranicas, C.
Bagenal, F.
Allen, R. C.
Bingham, S.
Bolton, S.
Cohen, I.
Ebert, R. W.
Dunn, W.
Haggerty, D.
Houston, S. J.
Jackman, C. M.
Roussos, E.
Rymer, A.
Westlake, J. H.
Source :
Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics; September 2020, Vol. 125 Issue: 9
Publication Year :
2020

Abstract

In this paper, we exploit the charge‐dependent nature of auroral phenomena in Jupiter's polar cap region to infer the charge states of energetic oxygen and sulfur. To date, there are very limited and sparse measurements of the >50 keV oxygen and sulfur charge states, yet many studies have demonstrated their importance in understanding the details of various physical processes, such as X‐ray aurora, ion‐neutral interactions in Jupiter's neutral cloud, and particle acceleration theories. In this contribution, we develop a technique to determine the most abundant charge states associated with heavy ions in Jupiter's polar magnetosphere. We find that O+and S++are the most abundant and therefore iogenic in origin. The results are important because they provide (1) strong evidence that soft X‐ray sources are likely due to charge stripping of magnetospheric ions and (2) a more complete spatial map of the oxygen and sulfur charge states, which is important for understanding how the charge‐ and mass‐dependent physical processes sculpt the energetic particles throughout the Jovian magnetosphere. Quasi‐static electric potentials in Jupiter's polar cap region are used to determine the energetic (>hundreds of keV) ion charge statesThe most abundant charge states associated with these precipitating ions are O+and S++and therefore iogenic in originThese observations are important for X‐ray auroral and ion‐neutral interaction physics

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
21699380 and 21699402
Volume :
125
Issue :
9
Database :
Supplemental Index
Journal :
Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics
Publication Type :
Periodical
Accession number :
ejs54401422
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA028052