arXiv subjects

M. Barthélémy

Publications and source records attributed to M. Barthélémy.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Energy distributions of precipitating electrons in Jupiter's auroral regions from combined Juno/JADE and Juno/JEDI measurements

Jupiter's auroras are produced by magnetospheric electrons precipitating into its atmosphere. Juno/JADE and Juno/JEDI together measure these electrons from 100 eV to 1 MeV. However, their auroral spectra are poorly reproduced by the widely used kappa distribution, hereafter the classical single-kappa distribution. We aim to statistically characterize the energy flux distributions of precipitating auroral electrons and to derive a new phenomenological 4-kappa distribution better suited to JADE+JEDI data. We build mean energy flux distributions in six auroral sub-regions (polar, main, and outer emissions in both hemispheres), combining JADE and JEDI data from PJ3 to PJ35, mapped to the SIII frame with the JRM33 model including the current sheet. We fit them using MCMC with the classical single-kappa and 4-kappa distributions. The mean distributions show a monotonic power-law decay with an energy cutoff beyond ~500 keV in most sub-regions, although some individual spectra depart from it at intermediate energies. Mean energies range from ~21 to ~119 keV, and energy fluxes from ~9.5 to ~28.7 mW/m$^2$. The classical single-kappa fit fails in all sub-regions, with $κ$ converging to the lower bound of its prior range. We therefore introduce the 4-kappa distribution, a linear combination of four classical single-kappa distributions modulated by an exponential high-energy cutoff, which accurately fits all six sub-regions. At equal energy flux and mean energy, transport simulations show that the 4-kappa distribution deposits energy at lower altitude than the classical one and distributes it differently along the vertical, with implications for the UV color ratio, atmospheric chemistry and thermal structure, and ionospheric conductances. This distribution provides an analytical framework for realistic modeling of electron precipitation and UV auroral emissions at Jupiter.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2026

The precipitation of protons and electrons in Jupiter's auroral regions: a statistical comparison based on Juno/JEDI data

Energetic electrons dominate the energy precipitated into Jupiter's auroral regions, but protons precipitate along the same field lines, with a contribution that remains poorly constrained. We statistically compare the precipitating energy flux of protons and electrons in two of Jupiter's auroral sub-regions, the polar (PE) and main (ME) emission regions. We use Juno/JEDI data from PJ3 to PJ66. The magnetic footprint of the spacecraft, computed with the JRM33 and CON2020 field models, is assigned to one of the two sub-regions, and the precipitating energy flux of each species is obtained by integrating over the loss cone the mean differential intensity measured within it. In both sub-regions, the median proton energy flux is 52 to 223 times lower than that of the electrons, and the total precipitated proton power is less than 2% of the electron power. Proton fluxes are broadly distributed across the sub-regions, with higher values in the ME than in the PE. Protons play a secondary role in Jupiter's auroral energy budget, radiating an estimated 5 to 9 GW in the UV per sub-region, pending a dedicated proton transport modelling. Their Doppler signature in the red wing of the Lyman-$α$ line, undetected by HST and difficult to access with Juno/UVS, is a key observable for the upcoming Juice and Europa Clipper missions.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2025

The Pedersen and Hall Conductances in the Jovian Polar Regions: New Maps based on a Broadband Electron Energy Distribution

The ionospheric Pedersen and Hall conductances play an important role in understanding the exchanges of angular momentum, energy and matter between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere/thermosphere at Jupiter, modifying the composition and temperature of the planet. In the high latitude regions, these conductances are enhanced by the auroral electron precipitation. The effect of a broadband precipitating electron energy distribution, similar to the observed electron distributions through particle measurements, on the conductance values is investigated. The new values are compared to the ones obtained from previous studies, notably when considering a mono-energetic distribution. The broadband precipitating electron energy distribution is modeled by a kappa distribution, which is used as an input in an electron transport model that computes the density vertical profiles of ionospheric ions. The vertical profiles of the Pedersen and Hall conductivities are then evaluated assuming that the conductivities are mostly governed by the densities of H3+ and CH5+. Finally, the Pedersen and Hall conductances are computed by integrating the corresponding conductivities over altitude. The Pedersen and Hall conductances are globally higher when considering a broadband electron energy distribution rather than a mono-energetic distribution. In addition, the use of the direct outputs of an electron transport model rather than the analytical expression presented in Hiraki and Tao (2008) as well as a change in the electron collision cross-sections also have significant impacts on the conductance values. Comparison between our results and the ones deduced from the corotation enforcement theory suggests that either a physical mechanism limits the field-aligned currents or the auroral electrons precipitating in the atmosphere are also accelerated by processes not associated with the field-aligned currents.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2024

Impact of the transport of magnetospheric electrons on the composition of the Triton atmosphere

Due to its inclined orbit and the complex geometry of the magnetic field of Neptune, Triton experiences a highly variable magnetic environment. As precipitation of magnetospheric electrons is thought to have a large impact on the Triton atmosphere, a better understanding of the interaction between its atmosphere and the magnetosphere of Neptune is important. We aim to couple a model of the Triton atmosphere with an electron transport model to compute the impact of a varying electron precipitation on the atmospheric composition. We coupled a recent photochemical model of the Triton atmosphere with the electron transport model TRANSPlanets. The inputs of this code were determined from Voyager 2 observations and previous studies. The main inputs were the electron precipitation flux, the orbital scaling factor, and the magnetic field strength. The electron-impact ionization and electron-impact dissociation rates computed by TRANSPlanets were then used in the photochemical model. We also analyzed the model uncertainties. The coupling of the two models enabled us to find an electron density profile, as well as N$_2$ and N number densities, that are consistent with the Voyager 2 observations. We found that photoionization and electron-impact ionization are of the same order, in contrast to the results of previous photochemical models. However, we emphasize that this result depends on the hypotheses we used to determine the input variables of TRANSPlanets. Our model would greatly benefit from new measurements of the magnetic environment of Triton, as well as of the electron fluxes in the Neptune magnetosphere.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2017

Virtual Planetary Space Weather Services offered by the Europlanet H2020 Research Infrastructure

The Europlanet 2020 Research Infrastructure will include new Planetary Space Weather Services (PSWS) that will extend the concepts of space weather and space situational awareness to other planets in our Solar System and in particular to spacecraft that voyage through it. PSWS will make five entirely new toolkits accessible to the research community and to industrial partners planning for space missions: a general planetary space weather toolkit, as well as three toolkits dedicated to the following key planetary environments: Mars, comets, and outer planets. This will give the European planetary science community new methods, interfaces, functionalities and/or plugins dedicated to planetary space weather in the tools and models available within the partner institutes. It will also create a novel event-diary toolkit aiming at predicting and detecting planetary events like meteor showers and impacts. A variety of tools are available for tracing propagation of planetary and/or solar events through the Solar System and modelling the response of the planetary environment (surfaces, atmospheres, ionospheres, and magnetospheres) to those events. But these tools were not originally designed for planetary event prediction and space weather applications. PSWS will provide the additional research and tailoring required to apply them for these purposes. PSWS will be to review, test, improve and adapt methods and tools available within the partner institutes in order to make prototype planetary event and space weather services operational in Europe at the end of the programme. To achieve its objectives PSWS will use a few tools and standards developed for the Astronomy Virtual Observatory (VO). This paper gives an overview of the project together with a few illustrations of prototype services based on VO standards and protocols.

astro-ph.IM↗