G. Zimbardo, OBSERVABLE IMPLICATIONS OF TEARING-MODE INSTABILITY IN JUPITER NIGHTSIDE MAGNETOSPHERE, Planetary and space science, 41(5), 1993, pp. 357-361
We consider the implications on observations of tearing-mode instabili
ty in Jupiter's nightside magnetosphere. Theoretical developments of t
he tearing instability are briefly discussed. Using a self-consistent
axisymmetric magnetic field model based on the Voyager data, it is fou
nd that magnetic reconnection driven by the internal magnetosphere ene
rgy and plasma can occur in the nightside magnetosphere. Particles acc
elerated at the neutral line, with maximum energy of the order of 10 M
eV, are to be expected on the separatrix magnetic surface which crosse
s the equatorial plane at a nightside distance of about 60 Jovian radi
i. When mapped onto the the polar regions, this corresponds to latitud
es near to 73-degrees, so that the associated auroral emission should
be located well inside the Io torus footprint Abo radio emission from
the streaming electrons can be expected. Recent Ulysses as well as gro
und-based observations support this scenario.