Coulomb thermal properties and stability of the Io plasma torus

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (57) References (32) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Coulomb thermal properties and stability of the Io plasma torus Barbosa, D. D. ; Coroniti, F. V. ; Eviatar, A. Abstract Coulomb collisional energy exchange rates are computed for a model of the Io plasma torus consisting of newly created pickup ions, a background of thermally degraded intermediary ions, and a population of cooler electrons. The electrons are collisionally heated by both the pickup ions and background ions and are cooled by electron impact excitation of plasma ions which radiate in the EUV. It is found that a relative concentration of S III pickup ions forbidden S III/electrons = 0.1 with a temperature of 340 eV can deliver energy to the electrons at a rate of 3 x 10 to the -13th erg/cu cm per sec, sufficient to power the EUV emissions in the Io torus. The model predicts a background ion temperature Ti of about 53 eV and an electron temperature Te of about 5.5 eV on the basis of steady-state energy balance relations at Coulomb rates. The model also predicts electron temperature fluctuations at the 30 percent level on a time scale of less than 11 hours, consistent with recent observations of this phenomenon. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: November 1983 DOI: 10.1086/161459 Bibcode: 1983ApJ...274..429B Keywords: Coulomb Collisions; Energy Transfer; Io; Magnetohydrodynamic Stability; Plasma Dynamics; Plasma Temperature; Astronomical Models; Atomic Collisions; Electron Energy; Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation; Ion Temperature; Jupiter Satellites; Plasma Composition; Lunar and Planetary Exploration full text sources ADS |