Article (Scientific journals)
Discovery of soft X-ray emission from Io, Europa, and the Io Plasma Torus
Elsner, Ronald F.; Gladstone, G. Randall; Waite, J. Hunter et al.
2002In Astrophysical Journal, 572 (2), p. 1077-1082
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Keywords :
X-rays : general; planets and satellites : individual (Io, Europa, Jupiter)
Abstract :
[en] We report the discovery of soft (0.25-2 keV) X-ray emission from the Galilean satellites Io and Europa, probably Ganymede, and from the Io Plasma Torus (IPT). Bombardment by energetic (greater than 10 keV) H, O, and S ions from the region of the IPT seems to be the likely source of the X-ray emission from the Galilean satellites. According to our estimates, fluorescent X-ray emission excited by solar X-rays, even during flares from the active Sun, charge-exchange processes, previously invoked to explain Jupiter's X-ray aurora and cometary X-ray emission, and ion stripping by dust grains fail to account for the observed emission. On the other hand, bremsstrahlung emission of soft X-rays from nonthermal electrons in the few hundred to few thousand eV range may account for a substantial fraction of the observed X-ray flux from the IPT.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Elsner, Ronald F.;  NASA Marshall Space Flight Center > Space Science Department
Gladstone, G. Randall;  Southwest Research Institute > Department of Space Science
Waite, J. Hunter;  University of Michigan > Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences
Crary, Frank J.;  University of Michigan > Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences
Howell, Robert R.;  University of Wyoming > Department of Physics and Astronomy
Johnson, Robert E.;  University of Virginia > Department of Engineering Physics
Ford, Peter G.;  Massachusetts Institute of Technology > Center for Space Research
Metzger, Albert E.;  Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena)
Hurley, Kevin C.;  University of California at Berkeley > Space Science Laboratoy
Feigelson, Eric D.;  Pennsylvania State University
Garmire, Gordon P.;  Pennsylvania State University
Bhardwaj, Anil;  Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre > Space Physics Laboratory
Grodent, Denis  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)
Majeed, Tariq;  Southwest Research Institute > Department of Space Science
Tennant, Allyn F.;  NASA Marshall Space Flight Center > Space Science Department
Weisskopf, Martin C.;  NASA Marshall Space Flight Center > Space Science Department
More authors (6 more) Less
Language :
English
Title :
Discovery of soft X-ray emission from Io, Europa, and the Io Plasma Torus
Publication date :
2002
Journal title :
Astrophysical Journal
ISSN :
0004-637X
eISSN :
1538-4357
Publisher :
Univ Chicago Press, Chicago, United States - Illinois
Volume :
572
Issue :
2
Pages :
1077-1082
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Available on ORBi :
since 23 January 2009

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