Auroral Emissions Research Articles

What leads to premature upper cut-off frequencies of auroral radio emission from hot magnetic stars?

ABSTRACT Recently, a large number of hot magnetic stars have been discovered to produce auroral radio emission by the process of electron cyclotron maser emission (ECME). Such stars have been given the name of main-sequence radio pulse emitters (MRPs). The phenomenon characterizing MRPs is very similar to that exhibited by planets like Jupiter. However, one important aspect in which the MRPs differ from aurorae exhibited by planets is the upper cut-off frequency of the ECME spectrum. While Jupiter’s upper cut-off frequency was found to correspond to its maximum surface magnetic field strength, the same for MRPs are always found to be much smaller than the frequencies corresponding to their maximum surface magnetic field strength. In this paper, we report the wideband observations (0.4–4.0 GHz) of the MRP HD 35298 that enabled us to locate the upper cut-off frequency of its ECME spectrum. This makes HD 35298 the sixth MRP with a known constraint on the upper cut-off frequency. With this information, for the first time, we investigate into what could lead to the premature cut-off. We review the existing scenarios attempting to explain this effect, and arrive at the conclusion that none of them can satisfactorily explain all the observations. We speculate that more than one physical processes might be in play to produce the observed characteristics of ECME cut-off for hot magnetic stars. Further observations, both for discovering more hot magnetic stars producing ECME and to precisely locate the upper cut-off, will be critical to solve this problem.

Classification of spectral fine structures of Saturn kilometric radiation

Abstract. The spectral fine structures of Saturn kilometric radiation (SKR) are best investigated with the wideband receiver (WBR) of Cassini's Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument, with which measured radio fluxes can be displayed in time–frequency spectra with resolutions of 125 ms and ∼0.1 kHz. We introduce seven different classes of SKR fine structures ranging from dots (one class for 0-dimensional objects) over lines (four classes of 1-dimensional objects being horizontal, vertical, or with negative or positive slope) to areal features (one class for 2-dimensional objects). Additionally, we define a seventh class containing special structures named according to their appearance in time–frequency spectra. These special features are named rain, striations, worms, and caterpillar and the latter two have never been described in the literature so far. Using this newly defined classification scheme, we classify features in spectra at low frequencies in the baseband of the 80 kHz WBR and at medium frequencies around 325 kHz. A statistic of the occurrence of various classes and sub-classes shows some notable characteristics: lines with a positive slope are much more common at medium frequencies than at low frequencies and vertical lines are almost absent at low frequencies. The particular fine structure of striations (group of narrowbanded lines with predominantly negative slopes) is quite common below 80 kHz but less common near 325 kHz. At these medium frequencies, the lines rather look like interrupted striations which we term with the name “rain”. We also find rare instances of striations with a positive slope and rare instances of absorption signatures within areal features. The newly introduced sub-classes of worms (lines oscillating in frequency) and caterpillars occur almost exclusively below 80 kHz. Caterpillars have a typical bandwidth of ∼10 kHz, a constant frequency below ∼40 kHz for several hours and they are mostly observed beyond distances of 10 Saturn radii. We discuss the implications of our findings in view of the many theories about spectral fine structures of auroral radio emissions.

Laboratory Experiments Confirm the Polarization of Auroral Emissions

AbstractA series of experiments have shown recently that several auroral lines are polarized, when observed from the ground. However, this polarization may be caused by indirect light sources (from the ground or the sky) scattered in the lower atmosphere by Rayleigh and Lorenz‐Mie scattering, or during the crossing of the ionospheric current sheets. Here, we present polarization measurements of the blue (427.8 nm) and purple (391.4 nm) emissions in a laboratory confined setting that excludes any light pollution or scattering. We show that both lines are polarized, at a level comparable to that of the natural auroral observations. Our results furthermore show that the Degree of Linear Polarization depends on the magnetic conditions. This set of experiments confirms in a controlled environment the polarization of auroral emissions and constitutes a strong evidence in favor of auroral emission already polarized in the upper atmosphere.

Illuminating the Motions of Jupiter's Auroral Dawn Storms

AbstractJupiter's auroral main emission (ME) has long been considered to be the result of currents keeping plasma corotating with the surrounding magnetosphere. As a result, the ME corotates with the planet, and individual auroral features making up the ME roughly follow suit. Jupiter's dawn storms, some of the rarest and brightest auroral features within the ME, are an exception, as they do not corotate but instead remain fixed near local dawn. The causes of this enigmatic motion are not fully understood. To test the significance of this motion, we have developed a process to identify auroral features and measure their degree of corotational motion, including dawn storms, in archival Hubble Space Telescope images of the Jovian ultraviolet aurorae. We compare motions of features inside and outside the dawn sector, characterizing the exact motions of dawn storms and providing context for these motions for the first time. In keeping with previous studies, we expected to identify features fixed near local dawn in 10% of observations; instead, we find that half of all features near local dawn lag corotation. We show that subcorotating dawn emissions are far more common than previously thought, and that the drivers of this motion must be similarly common. Corotational motion must be considered when identifying the processes driving all dawn aurorae, including the dawn storms. We explore the consistency of this result with various theories of dawn ME formation and propose that aspects of the known current system relating to the Sun‐Jupiter geometry can explain this behavior.

Radio Emission from Binary Ultracool Dwarf Systems

Well-characterized binary systems will provide valuable opportunities to study the conditions that are necessary for the onset of both auroral and nonauroral magnetospheric radio emission in the ultracool dwarf regime. We present new detections of nonauroral “quiescent” radio emission at 4–8 GHz of the three ultracool dwarf binary systems GJ 564 BC, LP 415-20, and 2MASS J21402931+1625183. We also tentatively detect a highly circularly polarized pulse at 4–6 GHz that may indicate aurorae from GJ 564 BC. Finally, we show that the brightest binary ultracool dwarf systems may be more luminous than predictions from single-object systems.

Time‐Dependent Electron Transport I: Modelling of Supra‐Thermal Electron Bursts Modulated at 5–10 Hz With Implications for Flickering Aurora

AbstractA time‐dependent multi‐stream electron transport model, AURORA, has been developed for studies of auroral emission‐rates during precipitation with large variations on sub‐second time‐scales. The transport‐code accurately takes time‐of‐flight, energy degradation, scattering and production of secondary electrons into account. AURORA produces ionospheric electron‐flux as a function of energy, altitude, time and pitch‐angle, with a time‐resolution of 3.33 ms. AURORA has been used to simulate flickering aurora by modulating field‐aligned bursts (FAB) of electrons modulated at frequencies between 5 and 10 Hz. Intensity modulations of auroral emissions at 4,278, 6,730, 7,444, and 8,446 Å have been calculated, time‐shifts on the order of 10 ms between the maxima of the emissions were found.

AMICal Sat: A Sparse RGB Imager on Board a 2U CubeSat to Study the Aurora

AMICal sat, a dedicated 2U CubeSat, has been developed, in order to monitor the auroral emissions with a dedicated imager. It aims to help reconstructing the low-energy electron fluxes up to 30 keV in the Earth auroral regions. It includes an imager entirely designed in the Grenoble University Space Center. The imager uses a 1.3-Mpixels sparse RGB CMOS detector and a wide-field objective ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f=22.5$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm). The satellite platform has been built by the Polish company Satrevolution. Launched 3 September 2020 from Kuru (French Guyana) on board the Vega flight 16, it produced its first images in October 2020. The aim of this article is to describe the design of the payload, especially the optics and the proximity electronics, and to describe the use of the payload for space weather purpose. A preliminary analysis of a first image showing the relevance of such an instrument for auroral monitoring is performed. This analysis allowed us to reconstruct from one of the first images the local electron input flux at the top of the atmosphere during the exposure time.

Response of the Jovian Magnetosphere‐Ionosphere System to the Interplanetary Magnetic Field Discontinuity: A Simulation Study

AbstractThe response of the magnetosphere‐ionosphere (MI) system at Jupiter to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) tangential discontinuity is studied via global Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations. Our results show that the IMF discontinuity, which has a transition front perpendicular to the Sun‐Jupiter line, has strong effects on the Jovian MI system depending on local times and radial distances to Jupiter. The magnetospheric significant response to the discontinuity is delayed by ∼2–6 hr after the encounter of the discontinuity front with the bow shock, while the delay time for the ionospheric field‐aligned currents (FACs) is ∼3–8 hr. The outer magnetosphere, particularly at dayside, tends to respond slightly quicker than the inner regions. At the ionosphere, the response of downward FACs is found to occur earlier than that of the upward ones by a time ranging from less than 1 hr to several hours, which is also more prominent at dayside sectors. Using a new MI mapping method with Jupiter's JRM09 magnetic field model, we reproduce for the first time the ionospheric FACs consistent with the morphology of the observed ultraviolet (UV) main auroral emissions. This indicates a potential application of the simulated upward FACs on the morphology of the UV main auroral ovals.

Evidence of Alfvénic Activity in Jupiter's Mid‐To‐High Latitude Magnetosphere

AbstractUsing a combination of Juno magnetometer and plasma data, we show evidence of Alfvénic turbulence within the mid‐to‐high latitude magnetosphere with sufficient conditions to trigger auroral particle acceleration. We analyze 12 events that, in agreement with theoretical results, are found to be dissipative at the electron inertial scale. Furthermore, these events contain significant Poynting flux in the range ∼0.8–20 mW/m2 at ionospheric altitudes. This is sufficient to generate auroral emissions. We confirm that such events are incompressible, confirming their Alfvénicity, occur at dissipative scales, have intermittent features present and are multifractal in nature. These results illustrate the importance of turbulence in the mid‐to‐high latitudes of Jupiter's magnetosphere as a driver of particle acceleration.

Method to observe Jupiter’s radio emissions at high resolution using multiple LOFAR stations: a first case study of the Io-decametric emission using the Irish IE613, French FR606, and German DE604 stations

ABSTRACT The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) is an international radio telescope array, consisting of 38 stations in the Netherlands and 14 international stations spread over Europe. Here, we present an observation method to study the Jovian decametric radio emissions from several LOFAR stations (here Birr Castle in Ireland, Nançay in France, and Postdam in Germany), at high temporal and spectral resolution. This method is based on prediction tools, such as radio emission simulations and probability maps, and data processing. We report an observation of Io-induced decametric emission from 2021 June, and a first case study of the substructures that compose the macroscopic emissions (called millisecond bursts). The study of these bursts makes it possible to determine the electron populations at the origin of these emissions. We then present several possible future avenues for study based on these observations. The methodology and study perspectives described in this paper can be applied to new observations of Jovian radio emissions induced by Io, but also by Ganymede or Europa, or Jovian auroral radio emissions.

Imaging Low-Energy Ion Outflow in the Auroral Zone

The VISualizing Ion Outflow via Neutral atom imaging during a Substorm (VISIONS) sounding rocket mission investigated the factors leading to ion outflow following a geomagnetic substorm. In situ and remote sensing instrumentation provided complementary measurements that have been combined to yield an in-depth look at the phenomena associated with ion outflow. In particular, the inclusion of instrumentation that provided high spatial and temporal resolution “images” of low-energy neutral atom (ENA) emissions from the nightside auroral zone following a substorm has led to new insights. The observed ENAs were spatially structured, and strongly associated with regions of intense 630.0 nm auroral emissions. The ENAs in the auroral zone were predominantly up-going, consistent with thick-target scattering in the region where the ENA mean free path is close to or less than the atmospheric scale height.

Alternating Emission Features in Io's Footprint Tail: Magnetohydrodynamical Simulations of Possible Causes

AbstractIo's movement relative to the plasma in Jupiter's magnetosphere creates Alfvén waves propagating along the magnetic field lines which are partially reflected along their path. These waves are the root cause for auroral emission, which is subdivided into the Io Footprint (IFP), its tail and leading spot. New observations of the Juno spacecraft by Mura et al. (2018, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat1450) have shown puzzling substructure of the footprint and its tail. In these observations, the symmetry between the poleward and equatorward part of the footprint tail is broken and the tail spots are alternatingly displaced. We show that the location of these bright spots in the tail are consistent with Alfvén waves reflected at the boundary of the Io torus and Jupiter's ionosphere. Then, we investigate three different mechanisms to explain this phenomenon: (a) The Hall effect in Io's ionosphere, (b) travel time differences of Alfvén waves between Io's Jupiter facing and its opposing side and (c) asymmetries in Io's atmosphere. For that, we use magnetohydrodynamic simulations within an idealized geometry of the system. We use the Poynting flux near the Jovian ionosphere as a proxy for the morphology of the generated footprint and its tail. We find that the Hall effect is the most important mechanism under consideration to break the symmetry causing the “Alternating Alfvén spot street.” The travel time differences contributes to enhance this effect. We find no evidence that the inhomogeneities in Io's atmosphere contribute significantly to the location or shape of the tail spots.

A Comprehensive Set of Juno In Situ and Remote Sensing Observations of the Ganymede Auroral Footprint

AbstractJupiter's satellite auroral footprints are a manifestation of the satellite‐magnetosphere interaction of the Galilean moons. Juno's polar elliptical orbit enables crossing the magnetic flux tubes connecting each Galilean moon with their associated auroral emission. Its payload allows measuring the fields and particle population in the flux tubes while remotely sensing their associated auroral emissions. During its thirtieth perijove, Juno crossed the flux tube directly connected to Ganymede's leading footprint spot, a unique event in the entire Juno prime mission. Juno revealed a highly‐structured precipitating electron flux, up to 316 mW/m2, while measuring both a small perturbation in the magnetic field azimuthal component and small Poynting flux with an estimated total downward current of 4.2 ± 1.2 kA. Based on the evolution of the footprint morphology and the field and particle measurements, Juno transited for the first time through a region connected to the transhemispheric electron beam of the Ganymede footprint.

Coexistence of Martian Proton Aurorae and Proton Cyclotron Waves during the Enhancement of Solar Wind Activity

Due to the lack of a global magnetic field, the charge exchange process between the solar wind protons and Martian hydrogen corona is of critical importance to Mars’ atmosphere. The energetic neutral atoms and pickup H+ produced during this process can further excite proton aurorae and proton cyclotron waves (PCWs) in the near-Mars space, for which the observational evidence however remains very limited. Here we report a particular event to show that the PCWs and proton aurorae were simultaneously recorded by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft during 10 consecutive orbits. As the byproducts of the charge exchange process, these two phenomena are found to be highly correlated in both space and time, with the correlation coefficient >0.7 between the auroral emissions and PCW amplitudes. Moreover, the wave and ultraviolet measurements show clearly that both the PCWs and proton aurora events tend to occur more frequently and intensively within the stream interaction region, as being strongly modulated by the solar wind activity. Our results indicate that the solar wind can directly transport energy and particles into the near-Mars environment, leading to the simultaneous enhancements of plasma wave activity and proton precipitation, which therefore helps comprehend the significant role of the solar wind activity and charge exchange process in driving the energy budget to the Martian upper atmosphere.

Solar Wind Model Supported by Parker Solar Probe Observations During Faint Venusian Auroral Emission

Abstract The encounter of the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) with Venus during the Venus Gravity Assist 3 on 2020 July 11 provided a unique opportunity to gather in situ solar wind data in the Venusian environment while also being able to observe Venus from ground-based facilities on Earth. The Wang–Sheeley–Arge (WSA) model was used to make accurate predictions of solar wind velocity and interplanetary magnetic field polarity at Earth and STEREO-A, as compared to in situ data at each spacecraft. The same model was then used to predict solar wind conditions at Venus. The predictions were in good agreement with in situ PSP data, as they match the overall magnitude and structure of the solar wind velocity and magnetic polarity at multiple spacecraft. This demonstrates that WSA can be used to make reliable predictions at locations in the heliosphere when in situ data is not available. Venusian aurorae were detected via emission in the oxygen green line 5577 Å OI(1 S − 1 D) at the same time that PSP captured a heliospheric current sheet crossing, and shortly thereafter, detected an increase in proton count rate. This is the first observation of oxygen green line aurora on Venus that is not the direct result of a coronal mass ejection, a solar flare, or corotating interaction regions.

Precipitating Electron Energy Spectra and Auroral Power Estimation by Incoherent Scatter Radar With High Temporal Resolution

AbstractThis study presents an improved method to estimate differential energy flux, auroral power and field‐aligned current of electron precipitation from incoherent scatter radar data. The method is based on a newly developed data analysis technique that uses Bayesian filtering to fit altitude profiles of electron density, electron temperature, and ion temperature to observed incoherent scatter spectra with high time and range resolutions. The electron energy spectra are inverted from the electron density profiles. Previous high‐time resolution fits have relied on the raw electron density, which is calculated from the backscattered power assuming that the ion and electron temperatures are equal. The improved technique is applied to one auroral event measured by the EISCAT UHF radar and it is demonstrated that the effect of electron heating on electron energy spectra, auroral power, and upward field‐aligned current can be significant at times. Using the fitted electron densities instead of the raw ones may lead to wider electron energy spectra and auroral power up to 75% larger. The largest differences take place for precipitation that produces enhanced electron heating in the upper E region, and in this study correspond to fluxes of electrons with peak energies from 3 to 5 keV. Finally, the auroral power estimates are verified by comparison to the 427.8 nm auroral emission intensity, which shows good correlation. The improved method makes it possible to calculate unbiased estimates of electron energy spectra with high time resolution and thereby to study rapidly varying aurora.

Discrete Aurora at Mars: Dependence on Upstream Solar Wind Conditions.

Discrete aurora at Mars, characterized by their small spatial scale and tendency to form near strong crustal magnetic fields, are emissions produced by particle precipitation into the Martian upper atmosphere. Since 2014, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN's (MAVEN's) Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) has obtained a large collection of UV discrete aurora observations during its routine periapsis nightside limb scans. Initial analysis of these observations has shown that, near the strongest crustal magnetic fields in the southern hemisphere, the IUVS discrete aurora detection frequency is highly sensitive to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angle. However, the role of other solar wind properties in controlling the discrete aurora detection frequency has not yet been determined. In this work, we use the IUVS discrete aurora observations, along with MAVEN observations of the upstream solar wind, to determine how the discrete aurora detection frequency varies with solar wind dynamic pressure, IMF strength, and IMF cone angle. We find that, outside of the strong crustal field region (SCFR) in the southern hemisphere, the aurora detection frequency is relatively insensitive to the IMF orientation, but significantly increases with solar wind dynamic pressure, and moderately increases with IMF strength. Interestingly however, although high solar wind dynamic pressures cause more aurora to form, they have little impact on the brightness of the auroral emissions. Alternatively, inside the SCFR, the detection frequency is only moderately dependent on the solar wind dynamic pressure, and is much more sensitive to the IMF clock and cone angles. In the SCFR, aurora are unlikely to occur when the IMF points near the radial or anti‐radial directions when the cone angle (arccos(B x /|B|)) is less than 30° or between 120° and 150°. Together, these results provide the first comprehensive characterization of how upstream solar wind conditions affect the formation of discrete aurora at Mars.

Empirically Determined Auroral Electron Events at Mars—MAVEN Observations

AbstractDiscrete aurorae have been observed at magnetized planets such as Earth and Jupiter, triggered by accelerated electrons. Similar aurorae have also been observed at Mars with only localized strong crustal magnetisms. However, our understanding of this phenomenon at Mars is still limited. In particular, direct and quantitative comparisons of the auroral and its source electron events are lacking as these two types of observations are usually made at different times and/or locations. In this study, we establish empirical criteria to select electron events (“auroral electrons”) that could trigger detectable auroral emissions with Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN measurements, thereby enabling a direct statistical comparison. We find auroral electrons share similar statistical characteristics to those previously reported for discrete auroral events. This study bridges the gap between electron observations and auroral detections and enables collaborations across different Mars missions, as well as comparative planetary studies of discrete aurora.

Assimilative Mapping of Auroral Electron Energy Flux Using SSUSI Lyman‐Birge‐Hopfield (LBH) Emissions

AbstractFar ultraviolet (FUV) imaging of the aurora from space provides great insight into the dynamic coupling of the atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere on global scales. To gain a quantitative understanding of these coupling processes, the global distribution of auroral energy flux is required, but the inversion of FUV emission to derive precipitating auroral particles' energy flux is not straightforward. Furthermore, the spatial coverage of FUV imaging from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) altitudes is often insufficient to achieve global mapping of this important parameter. This study seeks to fill these gaps left by the current geospace observing system using a combination of data assimilation and machine learning techniques. Specifically, this paper presents a new data‐driven modeling approach to create instantaneous, global assimilative mappings of auroral electron total energy flux from Lyman‐Birge‐Hopfield (LBH) emission data from the Defense Meteorological System Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Ultraviolet Spectrographic Imager (SSUSI). We take a two‐step approach; the creation of assimilative maps of LBH emission using optimal interpolation, followed by the conversion to energy flux using a neural network model trained with conjunction observations of in‐situ auroral particles and LBH emission from the DMSP Special Sensor J and SSUSI instruments. The paper demonstrates the feasibility of this approach with a model prototype built with DMSP data from 17 February 2014 to 23 February 2014. This study serves as a blueprint for a future comprehensive data‐driven model of auroral energy flux that is complementary to traditional inversion techniques to take advantage of FUV imaging from LEO platforms for global assimilative mapping of auroral energy flux.

Saturn's Weather‐Driven Aurorae Modulate Oscillations in the Magnetic Field and Radio Emissions

AbstractThe Cassini spacecraft revealed that Saturn's magnetic field displayed oscillations at a period originally thought to match the planetary rotation rate but later found not to. One of many proposed theories predicts that a polar twin‐cell neutral weather system drives this variation, producing observable differences in flows within Saturn's ionosphere. Here, using spectral observations of auroral emission lines taken by the Keck Observatory's Near Infrared Echelle Spectrograph (Keck‐NIRSPEC) in 2017, we derive ion line‐of‐sight velocity maps after grouping spectra into rotational quadrants matching phases of the planetary magnetic field. We measure 0.5 km s−1 wind systems in the ionosphere consistent with predicted neutral twin‐vortex flow patterns. These findings demonstrate that neutral winds in Saturn's polar regions cause the rotational period, as determined via the magnetic field, to exhibit differences and time variabilities relative to the planet's true period of rotation in a process never before seen within planetary atmospheres.