Mass supply from Io to Jupiter's magnetosphere
L. Roth, A. Bl\"ocker, K. de Kleer, D. Goldstein, E. Lellouch, J., Saur, C. Schmidt, D.F. Strobel, C. Tao, F. Tsuchiya, V. Dols, H. Huybrighs,, A. Mura, J. R. Szalay, S. V. Badman, I. de Pater, A.-C. Dott, M. Kagitani, L., Klaiber, R. Koga, A. McEwen, Z. Milby, K.D. Retherford

TL;DR
This paper reviews the processes supplying mass from Io to Jupiter's magnetosphere, emphasizing the stability of the plasma environment and the potential triggers for transient changes in the plasma torus.
Contribution
It synthesizes current understanding of Io's atmospheric loss, plasma supply mechanisms, and the conditions leading to transient magnetospheric events.
Findings
Mass supply to the plasma torus is about one ton per second.
Io's atmosphere remains relatively stable with some temporal and lateral variations.
Transient plasma torus changes may be triggered by volcanic activity or other processes.
Abstract
Since the Voyager mission flybys in 1979, we have known the moon Io to be both volcanically active and the main source of plasma in the vast magnetosphere of Jupiter. Material lost from Io forms neutral clouds, the Io plasma torus and ultimately the extended plasma sheet. This material is supplied from Io's upper atmosphere and atmospheric loss is likely driven by plasma-interaction effects with possible contributions from thermal escape and photochemistry-driven escape. Direct volcanic escape is negligible. The supply of material to maintain the plasma torus has been estimated from various methods at roughly one ton per second. Most of the time the magnetospheric plasma environment of Io is stable on timescales from days to months. Similarly, Io's atmosphere was found to have a stable average density on the dayside, although it exhibits lateral and temporal variations. There is…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstro and Planetary Science · Planetary Science and Exploration · Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
