Seminar: Plasma and Atmospheric Interactions: From Galilean Moons to Ultrahot Jupiters
The interaction between Jupiter’s magnetosphere and its Galilean moons plays a crucial role in shaping their plasma environments. This presentation explores how localized atmospheric inhomogeneities, such as water vapor plumes at Europa and volcanic plumes at Io, as well as a potential subsurface magma ocean at Io, influence these interactions. Using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations, these studies reveal how such inhomogeneities generate Alfvén winglets, alter local plasma conditions, and impact the interpretation of spacecraft observations. These findings are particularly relevant for future missions aiming to detect and characterize plumes and subsurface activity at the Galilean moons.
Understanding Jupiter’s moon-magnetosphere interactions also provides valuable insights into other astrophysical environments where magnetic fields influence atmospheric dynamics. In particular, ultra-hot Jupiters experience strong magnetic coupling due to their ionized upper atmospheres and fast winds. To investigate how a planet’s interior magnetic field affects atmospheric circulation and observational characteristics, a three-dimensional General Circulation Model (GCM) is used.