Zhang, B;
Delamere, PA;
Yao, Z;
Bonfond, B;
Lin, D;
Sorathia, KA;
Brambles, OJ;
... Lyon, JG; + view all
(2021)
How Jupiter's unusual magnetospheric topology structures its aurora.
Science Advances
, 7
(15)
, Article eabd1204. 10.1126/sciadv.abd1204.
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Abstract
Jupiter’s bright persistent polar aurora and Earth’s dark polar region indicate that the planets’ magnetospheric topologies are very different. High-resolution global simulations show that the reconnection rate at the interface between the interplanetary and jovian magnetic fields is too slow to generate a magnetically open, Earth-like polar cap on the time scale of planetary rotation, resulting in only a small crescent-shaped region of magnetic flux interconnected with the interplanetary magnetic field. Most of the jovian polar cap is threaded by helical magnetic flux that closes within the planetary interior, extends into the outer magnetosphere, and piles up near its dawnside flank where fast differential plasma rotation pulls the field lines sunward. This unusual magnetic topology provides new insights into Jupiter’s distinctive auroral morphology.
Type: | Article |
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Title: | How Jupiter's unusual magnetospheric topology structures its aurora |
Location: | United States |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
DOI: | 10.1126/sciadv.abd1204 |
Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abd1204 |
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 NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). |
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/10132393 |
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