Abstract
Jupiter is surrounded by intense and energetic radiation belts, yet most
of the available in-situ data, in volume and quality, were taken outside
of Europa’s orbit, where radiation conditions are not that extreme. Here
we study measurements of ions of tens of keV to tens of MeV at
<10 Jupiter radii (RJ) distance to Jupiter, therefore inward
of the orbit of Europa. Ion intensities drop around 6RJ, near Io’s
orbit. Previous missions reported on radiation belts of tens and
hundreds of MeV ions located between 2 and 4 RJ. Measurements of lower
energies were not conclusive because high energy particles typically
contaminate the measurement of lower energy particles. Here we show for
the first time that ions in the hundreds of keV range are present and
suggest that ions may extend even into the GeV range. The observation of
charged particles yields information on the entire field line, not just
the local field. We find that there is a region close to Jupiter where
no magnetic trapping is possible. Jupiter’s innermost radiation belt is
located at <2RJ, inward of the main ring. Previous work
suggested that this belt is sourced by reionized energetic neutral atoms
coming steadily inward from distant regions. Here we perform a phase
space density analysis that shows consistency with such a local source.
However, an alternative explanation is that the radiation belt is
populated by occasional strong radial transport and then decays on the
timescale of years.