Jovian plasma sheet density profile from low-frequency radio waves

Journal Article · Sat Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1989 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/JA094iA04p03495· OSTI ID:5947504

Rucker, H O ^[1]; Ladreiter, H P ^[2]; LeBlanc, Y ^[3]; Jones, D ^[4]; Kurth, W S ^[5]

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1. Space Research Institute, Graz (Austria)
2. Univ. of Graz (Austria)
3. Observatoire de Paris, Meudon (France)
4. Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge (England)
5. Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City (USA)

By using planetary radio astronomy (PRA), plasma wave system (PWS), and Magnetometer (MAG) data from Voyager 1 and 2 (V1 and V2), essential features of the nightside Jovian plasma sheet are derived, and the density gradient of the corotating plasma structure in the middle Jovian magnetosphere is calculated. The PRA experiment gives information about the plasma wave polarization. To determine the density profile of the plasma sheet, the authors have derived the hinge point position of the plasma disc from MAG data and used the low-frequency cutoffs observed at three frequencies (562 Hz, 1 kHz, and 1.78 kHz) from the PWS experiment. They show that the hinge point position varies with the solar wind ram pressure, and the plasma disc thickness decreases with distance up to about 60 R{sub J}. The average thickness for an isodensity contour corresponding to 1 kHz is 3.29 R{sub J} for V1 and 3.16 R{sub J} for V2.

• OSTI ID: 5947504
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (USA), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (USA) Vol. 94:A4; ISSN 0148-0227; ISSN JGREA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640107* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Planetary Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ASTRONOMY
ATMOSPHERES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DIMENSIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
INTERACTIONS
JUPITER PLANET
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
PLANETARY MAGNETOSPHERES
PLANETS
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMA WAVES
POLARIZATION
RADIATIONS
RADIOASTRONOMY
RADIOWAVE RADIATION
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR WIND
THICKNESS