NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
The role of energetic particle precipitation in Jovian magnetospherics. I - Secondary electrons from the ionosphere of JupiterEscape 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.
Document ID
19790052424
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Swartz, W. E.
(Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY, United States)
Williams, G. J.
(Cornell University Ithaca, N.Y., United States)
Mcdonough, T. R.
(Pasadena Interdisciplinary Research Pasadena, Calif., United States)
Date Acquired
August 9, 2013
Publication Date
May 1, 1979
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Volume: 6
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
79A36437
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF DES-75-03881
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF DES-73-06489-A02
CONTRACT_GRANT: NGR-33-010-161
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available