1. Imaging Jupiter’s radiation belts down to 127 MHz with LOFAR
- Author
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Girard, J. N., Zarka, P., Tasse, C., Hess, S., de Pater, I., Santos-Costa, D., Nenon, Q., Sicard, A., Bourdarie, S., Anderson, J., Asgekar, A., Bell, M. E., van Bemmel, I., Bentum, M. J., Bernardi, G., Best, P., Bonafede, A., Breitling, F., Breton, R. P., Broderick, J. W., Brouw, W. N., Brüggen, M., Ciardi, B., Corbel, S., Corstanje, A., de Gasperin, F., de Geus, E., Deller, A., Duscha, S., Eislöffel, J., Falcke, H., Frieswijk, W., Garrett, M. A., Grießmeier, J., Gunst, A. W., Hessels, J. W. T., Hoeft, M., Hörandel, J., Iacobelli, M., Juette, E., Kondratiev, V. I., Kuniyoshi, M., Kuper, G., van Leeuwen, J., Loose, M., Maat, P., Mann, G., Markoff, S., McFadden, R., McKay-Bukowski, D., Moldon, J., Munk, H., Nelles, A., Norden, M. J., Orru, E., Paas, H., Pandey-Pommier, M., Pizzo, R., Polatidis, A. G., Reich, W., Röttgering, H., Rowlinson, A., Schwarz, D., Smirnov, O., Steinmetz, M., Swinbank, J., Tagger, M., Thoudam, Satyendra, Toribio, M. C., Vermeulen, R., Vocks, C., van Weeren, R. J., Wijers, R. A. M. J., Wucknitz, O., Girard, J. N., Zarka, P., Tasse, C., Hess, S., de Pater, I., Santos-Costa, D., Nenon, Q., Sicard, A., Bourdarie, S., Anderson, J., Asgekar, A., Bell, M. E., van Bemmel, I., Bentum, M. J., Bernardi, G., Best, P., Bonafede, A., Breitling, F., Breton, R. P., Broderick, J. W., Brouw, W. N., Brüggen, M., Ciardi, B., Corbel, S., Corstanje, A., de Gasperin, F., de Geus, E., Deller, A., Duscha, S., Eislöffel, J., Falcke, H., Frieswijk, W., Garrett, M. A., Grießmeier, J., Gunst, A. W., Hessels, J. W. T., Hoeft, M., Hörandel, J., Iacobelli, M., Juette, E., Kondratiev, V. I., Kuniyoshi, M., Kuper, G., van Leeuwen, J., Loose, M., Maat, P., Mann, G., Markoff, S., McFadden, R., McKay-Bukowski, D., Moldon, J., Munk, H., Nelles, A., Norden, M. J., Orru, E., Paas, H., Pandey-Pommier, M., Pizzo, R., Polatidis, A. G., Reich, W., Röttgering, H., Rowlinson, A., Schwarz, D., Smirnov, O., Steinmetz, M., Swinbank, J., Tagger, M., Thoudam, Satyendra, Toribio, M. C., Vermeulen, R., Vocks, C., van Weeren, R. J., Wijers, R. A. M. J., and Wucknitz, O.
- Abstract
Context. With the limited amount of in situ particle data available for the innermost region of Jupiter’s magnetosphere, Earth-based observations of the giant planets synchrotron emission remain the sole method today of scrutinizing the distribution and dynamical behavior of the ultra energetic electrons magnetically trapped around the planet. Radio observations ultimately provide key information about the origin and control parameters of the harsh radiation environment. Aims. We perform the first resolved and low-frequency imaging of the synchrotron emission with LOFAR. At a frequency as low as 127 MHz, the radiation from electrons with energies of ~1–30 MeV are expected, for the first time, to be measured and mapped over a broad region of Jupiter’s inner magnetosphere. Methods. Measurements consist of interferometric visibilities taken during a single 10-hour rotation of the Jovian system. These visibilities were processed in a custom pipeline developed for planetary observations, combining flagging, calibration, wide-field imaging, direction-dependent calibration, and specific visibility correction for planetary targets. We produced spectral image cubes of Jupiter’s radiation belts at the various angular, temporal, and spectral resolutions from which flux densities were measured. Results. The first resolved images of Jupiter’s radiation belts at 127–172 MHz are obtained with a noise level ~20–25 mJy/beam, along with total integrated flux densities. They are compared with previous observations at higher frequencies. A greater extent of the synchrotron emission source (≥4 RJ) is measured in the LOFAR range, which is the signature – as at higher frequencies – of the superposition of a “pancake” and an isotropic electron distribution. Asymmetry of east-west emission peaks is measured, as well as the longitudinal dependence of the radial distance of the belts, and the presence of a hot spot at λIII = 230° ± 25°. Spectral flux density measurements are on the low side o
- Published
- 2016
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