Modification of the Jovian radiation belts by Shoemaker-Levy 9: An explanation of the data

The SL9 impacts provided a unique data set with which to examine some surpr ising physical mechanisms at work. This paper examines some of the data in light of the collisionless shock acceleration paradigm, called diffusive sh ock acceleration. The research finds that both the shock acceleration mecha nism and an enhanced diffusion mechanism are required to explain the data. Direct numerical simulations and analytic models are used to compare these mechanisms with the data collected. The results are consistent with the dat a. In addition further analysis of these SL9 VLA data strongly suggests tha t for periods of days the relativistic radiation belts drift in a direction opposite to that predicted by normal drift theory. (C) 2001 Academic Press .