The Eruptive Evolution of the Galilean Satellites - Implications for the Ancient Magnetic Field of Jupiter

The hypothesis considering the Jupiter-Sun system as a limiting case of a close binary star implies the initial relative ice abundances in all the Galilean satellites to be essentially equal. The satellites move in the Jovian magnetosphere; thus the unipolar current flowing through their bodies subjected their ices to volumetric electrolysis. Explosions of the electrolysis products resulted in a loss of ices. While Callisto did not explode at all, Ganymede exploded once, Europa twice, and Io two or three times. An analysis of the magnetic field changes needed to create the modern ice abundances in the satellite shows:

(1)

the initial field of Jupiter was ∼10² times stronger when compared with the present-day field, and

(2)

the field had to decrease exponentially with τ_2| ≈ (0.6-1), which means its relic nature.