Electron Partial Density and Temperature Over Jupiter's Main Auroral Emission Using Juno Observations

Abstract

We present a survey of electron partial densities (i.e., the portion of the total density measured between ∼0.05 and 100 keV) and temperatures in Jupiter's main auroral emission region using plasma measurements from the Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment (JADE) on Juno. The electron partial density increases from ∼0.01 or 0.1 cm−3 near the main oval to a few cm−3 at the edge of the measurable part of the UV emission equatorward of the main oval. The electron temperature is highest near the main oval at ∼10–20 keV and decreases equatorward down to ∼0.3–2 keV. The JADE electron partial density agrees within a factor of ∼2 with the total electron densities derived from Juno-Waves when the comparison is possible. The electron density and temperature trends are consistent for all sampled longitudes, for the north and the south, and there is no significant trend with radial distance in the range examined in this study (1.25–1.96 RJ). The electron density is anti-correlated with the temperature and the characteristic energy. The ratio of the magnetic field strength to the electron density is maximum near the main oval.