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Cold torus whistlers : An indirect probe of the inner Jovian plasmasphere
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Cold torus whistlers : An indirect probe of the inner Jovian plasmasphere

K Wang, R. M Thorne, R. B Horne and W. S Kurth
Journal of geophysical research, Vol.103(A7), pp.14987-14994
07/01/1998
DOI: 10.1029/98JA00965
url
https://doi.org/10.1029/98JA00965View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

The dominant features of Jovian whistlers observed by Voyager 1 in the inner cold torus around RJ ≈ 5.3 are studied using the technique of ray tracing with an offset tilted dipole. These whistlers are unducted, and the electron density in the inner plasmasphere plays a controlling role in the access of whistlers to the cold torus. The upper frequency cutoff of inner zone whistlers allows a firm limit to be placed on the minimum electron density 3–5 cm−3 at higher latitudes in the inner plasmasphere around L ≈ 5.3, a region where no spacecraft have ever been. Backward ray tracing from the observation location is used to determine the source location at the top of the Jovian atmosphere, and it is shown to be consistent with the latitude of lightning events observed by Voyager 1.
Astronomy Earth, ocean, space Exact sciences and technology Ionospheres; magnetospheres Jupiter Planetary, asteroid, and satellite characteristics and properties Planets, their satellites and rings. Asteroids Solar system

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