Modeling Jupiter's synchrotron radiation

Abstract

We have constructed a computer model to simulate synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons trapped in Jupiter's magnetic field. The computer program generates the four Stokes parameters of the synchrotron emission for assumed electron distributions and magnetic field models. The resulting two dimensional Stokes parameter maps can be compared directly with ground based observations. We use magnetic field models derived from spacecraft measurements, and tailor the electron distributions to fit synchrotron obsevations. The gross features of data from both VLA and single-dish observations are fit by a longitudinally symmetric particle distribution. We suggest that higher order terms in the magnetic field, coupled with relativistic beaming effects of synchrontron radiation, are primarily responsible for the observed rotational asymmetry.