A scenario for Jovian S‐bursts

Abstract

Jovian S‐bursts are intense impulsive decameter radio spikes drifting in frequency in tens of milliseconds over several hundreds of kHz up to a few MHz. Their generation scenario has been much debated for 30 years. The automated analysis of an extensive set of digital radio observations at very high temporal and spectral resolutions is presented here. It strongly suggests that S‐bursts are the cyclotron‐maser emission of electron populations with ∼5 keV energy, accelerated near Io and then in quasi‐adiabatic motion along magnetic field lines connecting the Io torus to Jupiter's auroral regions. This scenario is consistent with Voyager observations of Alfvèn waves near Io's wake and with recent infrared observations of the Io flux tube footprint. The total energy, velocity and pitch angle of the radiating electrons, and the extent of the bursts radiosources are deduced from the radio measurements, which appear as a promising remote sensing tool for the Jovian magnetosphere, and possibly that of other “radio” planets.