Role of energetic particle precipitation in Jovian magnetospherics: 1. Secondary electrons from the ionosphere of Jupiter

Journal Article · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1979 · Geophys. Res. Lett.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/GL006i005p00389· OSTI ID:6093308

Swartz, W E; Williams, G J; McDonough, T R

Escape of photoelectrons from the Jovian ionosphere produces only a meager source of thermal plasma for the inflated centrifugally unstable magnetosphere and is unable to account for the 100 eV thermal plasma temperatures of the magnetosphere. Since the Jovian magnetosphere is well populated with highly energetic electrons, the creation of secondaries and the energy degradation of the primaries precipitating into the lower ionosphere provide additional sources of magnetospheric thermal plasma as well as of the energy for further elevating the plasma temperatures in the top side ionosphere. The efficiencies with which escaping electrons are created by precipitating electrons with energies up to several MeV are computed using energetic electron transport and thermalization codes. The more energetic incident fluxes are far less efficient in creating escaping electrons than the lower energy fluxes with only 0.001% of the secondaries escaping for a 1 MeV source versus 3% for a 1 keV source. Incident fluxes of the order of 10 to 100 per sq cm per sec per eV between 100 eV and 100 keV are required to produce 50 eV escape fluxes comparable to those generated by solar EUV.

• Research Organization: School of Electrical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
• OSTI ID: 6093308
• Journal Information: Geophys. Res. Lett.; (United States), Journal Name: Geophys. Res. Lett.; (United States) Vol. 6:5; ISSN GPRLA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640107* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Planetary Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ATMOSPHERES
CHARGED-PARTICLE PRECIPITATION
ELECTRON PRECIPITATION
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
EMISSION
ENERGY LOSSES
ENERGY TRANSPORT
ION TEMPERATURE
JUPITER PLANET
LOSSES
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
PLANETARY MAGNETOSPHERES
PLANETS
SECONDARY EMISSION