Auroral Particle Acceleration at Jupiter

Jupiter's bright and dynamic aurorae are generated by high energy precipitating electrons, the result of an electrical current system that couples the planetary atmosphere to its surrounding plasma environment. Yet the characteristics of Jupiter's high-latitude acceleration region are not well understood. This mystery has strong implications for energy and momentum transfer between the atmosphere and magnetosphere, and for using Jupiter's aurora as a diagnostic of the local space environment. This project will explore and quantify the driving of Jupiter's auroral currents by forces both internal (radial transport of plasma from volcanic moons) and external (solar wind stresses) to the magnetosphere. The project will extend and develop a state-of-the-art model of Jupiter's auroral currents; predict auroral conditions, thus connecting auroral observations to in situ measurements; and provide a description of Jupiter's high-latitude magnetosphere for atmospheric and magnetospheric models. The project is timely, as it will aide in the interpretation of ongoing Juno measurements and make predictions for ESA's upcoming JUICE mission.