Inter‐Orbit Variability of Jupiter's Current Sheet Morphology

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The structure of Jupiter's magnetosphere reflects the combined effects of a strong intrinsic field and an extended hinged current sheet whose morphology varies with solar wind forcing. We present a study of Jupiter's magnetodisc that combines the UCL‐AGA magnetodisc code with Khurana's generalized, hinged current sheet models (1992/2022) to fit Juno MAG data from orbits PJ6–PJ12 and PJ34 using a “rolling‐window” approach. Periods of relative stability (“quiescent” magnetosphere) are identified during each pass, reducing the impact of transient solar‐wind and reconfiguration events. The underlying magnetospheric parameters are then determined and current sheet morphology constrained. Estimated magnetopause distances are also obtained and compared to the results obtained by Joy et al. (2002, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001ja009146 ), showing most probable subsolar standoff distances between 46 and 64 and results consistent with dawn‐dusk asymmetry and/or a cushion region along the dusk flank. This approach reveals substantial per‐perijove magnetospheric and current sheet geometry variability, as well as capturing changes in hot‐plasma content and effective magnetodisc radius within a single pass. Correlations between model parameters link extended magnetospheres to larger magnetic field sweepback onset distances, with weaker negative trends linking magnetospheric compression with the Alfvén wave propagation speed and hot plasma content with the distance at which hinging becomes significant. Finally, both MDISC + Khurana model variants are shown to match, and often outperform, the optimized Connerney (2020) baseline current disc model across most perijoves analyzed.
Funding Information
  • Science and Technology Facilities Council

This publication has 34 references indexed in Scilit: