A new outlook at Uranus' and Neptune's 10 keV-5 MeV energy electron
distributions from data analyses and physics-based models
Abstract
We present our latest understanding of the processes that shape the
spatial distributions of energetic electrons trapped in the
magnetospheres of Uranus (L < 15) and Neptune (L <
25). To determine what controls the energy and spatial distributions
throughout the different magnetospheres, we compute the time evolution
of particle distributions with the help of a diffusion theory particle
transport code that solves the governing 3-D Fokker-Planck equation.
Different mechanisms of particle loss, source and transport are
numerically examined. Our theoretical modeling is guided by the analysis
of particle, field and wave data collected during Voyager 2’s flyby of
Uranus in January 1986 and at Neptune in August 1989. Our preliminary
data-model comparison results at Uranus show that adiabatic transport
cannot explain the radial and angular features of warm to
ultra-relativistic electron populations within the ~1-15
L region. Our simulation results also suggest that, with absence of loss
mechanisms inside L = 15, energetic and radiation-belt electron
populations would be higher by 1-3 orders of magnitude in intensity
close to the planet (L ~ 1-8). Particularly, our results
confirm that moon sweeping effect is a significant loss mechanism at
Uranus. Nonetheless, other radial, energy and pitch-angle dependent
mechanisms seem to be missing to explain the in-situ data. We will thus
present our ongoing effort to examine the role of - for instance,
Uranus’ rings system, atomic hydrogen corona and wave activity inward of
L ~ 8-10 to improve our modeling of Uranus’ electron
populations between L values of 1 and 15. Our first physics-based model
of energetic electrons at Neptune will be presented, emphasizing first
the role of radial transport and moon sweeping effect for the 1-25 L
region before investigating new processes. Our models developed for
Uranus and Neptune are based on the theoretical modeling of electron
distributions at Saturn, which included the modeling of radial transport
and interactions of electrons with Saturn’s dust/neutral/plasma
environments and waves, as well as particle sources from high-latitudes,
interchange injections, and outer magnetospheric region. Comparisons
between the distributions of electron populations at Gas and Ice Giant
systems will be discussed. Data analysis, theoretical modeling, and
numerical computations for Uranus and Neptune are carried out by
adapting the Kronian modeling tools developed at Southwest Research
Institute to the Ice Giants environment. Key data analysis, theoretical
modeling, and numerical computational tasks for Saturn were carried out
at Southwest Research Institute under NASA GSFC grant 80NSSC18K1100.