Detection of Negative Carbon and Oxygen Pickup Ions From Dust Orbiting Jupiter

Abstract We report on observations of negative carbon and oxygen pickup ions (PUIs) originating from dust orbiting Jupiter. The PUIs are observed at altitudes of a few thousand kilometers (∼4,800–10,200 km) above the 1‐bar level of Jupiter's atmosphere and up to ∼11,000–15,000 km from the equatorial plane, thus providing constraints on the location of the dust population and its composition. The Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment–Electron sensors on Juno detect these PUIs because of the combination of a fast‐moving spacecraft and the large Keplerian orbital speed of the dust near Jupiter. We demonstrate that this scenario is consistent with the observations. We find a PUI C/O ratio of 10 ± 5 and a PUI energy release of ∼11 ± 9 eV. Electron stimulated desorption is a likely process for creating these PUIs. The dust is well inside the halo population and likely carbonaceous.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2025-09-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl117406
Primary Topic
Astro and Planetary Science
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Detection of Negative Carbon and Oxygen Pickup Ions From Dust Orbiting Jupiter

Angèle Pontoni, Jianzhao Wang, P. Louarn, Joachim Saur et al.
Geophysical Research Letters
Astro and Planetary Science
article

Detection of Negative Carbon and Oxygen Pickup Ions From Dust Orbiting Jupiter

Angèle Pontoni, Jianzhao Wang, P. Louarn, Joachim Saur, B. H. Mauk, F. Allegrini, D. J. McComas, W. S. Kŭrth, J. E. P. Connerney, R. W. Ebert, P. W. Valek, S. J. Bolton, J. R. Szalay, G. Clark, Robert J. Wilson
article en

Abstract

Abstract We report on observations of negative carbon and oxygen pickup ions (PUIs) originating from dust orbiting Jupiter. The PUIs are observed at altitudes of a few thousand kilometers (∼4,800–10,200 km) above the 1‐bar level of Jupiter's atmosphere and up to ∼11,000–15,000 km from the equatorial plane, thus providing constraints on the location of the dust population and its composition. The Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment–Electron sensors on Juno detect these PUIs because of the combination of a fast‐moving spacecraft and the large Keplerian orbital speed of the dust near Jupiter. We demonstrate that this scenario is consistent with the observations. We find a PUI C/O ratio of 10 ± 5 and a PUI energy release of ∼11 ± 9 eV. Electron stimulated desorption is a likely process for creating these PUIs. The dust is well inside the halo population and likely carbonaceous.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 52(18)
University of Iowa (US), Southwest Research Institute (US), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), University of Cologne (DE), University of Colorado Boulder (US), Princeton University (US), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (US), Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (US), Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (FR), The University of Texas at San Antonio (US)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Southwest Research Institute
Openalex Percentile: Top 82%
Astro and Planetary Science
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