Opening of the magnetic field lines in a fast rotating magnetosphere, with an application to Jupiter
Abstract
A simple model of a magnetosphere rotating around a rotating Jupiter-like object with a spin-aligned dipolar moment mu is considered. A low-energy plasma is released by inner sources located beyond the corotation radius and is diffused outward through closed lines. The lines form a closed thin equatorial disk, maintaining a quasi-static balance between the centrifugal force and the magnetic tension. Solutions are obtained for the analytical equations characterizing the plasma in the closed region; the structure of the magnetic field outside the disk; and the self-consistent value of the critical radius rzero. The analytical solutions are compared to the observed properties of the Jovian magnetosphere, and the results are discussed in detail.
- Publication:
-
Unstable Current Systems and Plasma Instabilities in Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- 1985
- Bibcode:
- 1985IAUS..107..217A
- Keywords:
-
- Jupiter (Planet);
- Planetary Magnetic Fields;
- Planetary Magnetospheres;
- Planetary Rotation;
- Angular Momentum;
- Corotation;
- Force-Free Magnetic Fields;
- Lines Of Force;
- Lunar and Planetary Exploration