Yao, Z;
Dunn, WR;
Woodfield, EE;
Clark, G;
Mauk, BH;
Ebert, RW;
Grodent, D;
... Bolton, SJ; + view all
(2021)
Revealing the source of Jupiter's x-ray auroral flares.
Science Advances
, 7
(28)
, Article eabf0851. 10.1126/sciadv.abf0851.
Preview |
Text
Branduardi Raymont_eabf0851.full.pdf - Published Version Download (766kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Jupiter's rapidly rotating, strong magnetic field provides a natural laboratory that is key to understanding the dynamics of high-energy plasmas. Spectacular auroral x-ray flares are diagnostic of the most energetic processes governing magnetospheres but seemingly unique to Jupiter. Since their discovery 40 years ago, the processes that produce Jupiter's x-ray flares have remained unknown. Here, we report simultaneous in situ satellite and space-based telescope observations that reveal the processes that produce Jupiter's x-ray flares, showing surprising similarities to terrestrial ion aurora. Planetary-scale electromagnetic waves are observed to modulate electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves, periodically causing heavy ions to precipitate and produce Jupiter's x-ray pulses. Our findings show that ion aurorae share common mechanisms across planetary systems, despite temporal, spatial, and energetic scales varying by orders of magnitude.
Type: | Article |
---|---|
Title: | Revealing the source of Jupiter's x-ray auroral flares. |
Location: | United States |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
DOI: | 10.1126/sciadv.abf0851 |
Publisher version: | http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf0851 |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | Copyright © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S.Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY). |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10131457 |




Archive Staff Only
![]() |
View Item |