The Spatial Morphology of Equatorial Electron Beams Near Io

The Galileo spacecraft observed energetic field-aligned electron beams very close to Io during several flybys. We apply a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of the far-field Io-Jupiter interaction to simulate for the first time the location and spatial shape of field-aligned electron beams. Io continuously generates MHD waves by disturbing the Jovian magnetoplasma. Currents carried by Alfvén waves propagate predominantly along the magnetic field lines. As the number of charge carriers decreases along the travelpath, electrons are accelerated towards Jupiter. These energetic electrons precipitate into the Jovian ionosphere, visible as prominent Io footprint (IFP) emission. Electrons are also accelerated towards Io and form the equatorial beams observed by the Galileo spacecraft. Unlike the beam formation, the position and spatial structure of these beams has not been addressed in detail before. We use a 3D MHD model with initial conditions corresponding to the individual Galileo flyby and determine the spatial morphology of the beams in Io's orbital plane. Our results are in good agreement with the Galileo observations. We find that the ratio of the one-way traveltime of the Alfvén wave from Io to Jupiter and the convection time of the plasma past the obstacle controls the location of the beams. This leads to the conclusion that at other satellites with other plasma environments, e.g. Ganymede, Callisto, Europa and Enceladus, the electron beams might not be close to the satellite, but can be shifted significantly downstream along its plasma wake. Thus, the future search for field-aligned electron populations near a satellite should be further extended to the wake region.