The LEXI and SMILE missions will provide soft X‐ray images of the Earth's magnetosheath and cusps after their anticipated launch in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The IBEX mission showed the potential ...of an Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) instrument to image dayside magnetosheath and cusps, albeit over the long hours required to raster an image with a single pixel imager. Thus, it is timely to discuss the two imaging techniques and relevant science topics. We simulate soft X‐ray and low‐ENA images that might be observed by a virtual spacecraft during two interesting solar wind scenarios: a southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field and a sudden enhancement of the solar wind dynamic pressure. We employ the OpenGGCM global magnetohydrodynamics model and a simple exospheric neutral density model for these calculations. Both the magnetosheath and the cusps generate strong soft X‐rays and ENA signals that can be used to extract the locations and motions of the bow shock and magnetopause. Magnetopause erosion corresponds closely to the enhancement of dayside reconnection rate obtained from the OpenGGCM model, indicating that images can be used to understand global‐scale magnetopause reconnection. When dayside imagers are installed with high‐ENA inner‐magnetosphere and FUV/UV aurora imagers, we can trace the solar wind energy flow from the bow shock to the magnetosphere and then to the ionosphere in a self‐standing manner without relying upon other observatories. Soft X‐ray and/or ENA imagers can also unveil the dayside exosphere density structure and its response to space weather.
Key Points
Soft X‐ray and Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) imaging instruments provide an innovative way to visualize the global solar wind‐magnetosphere interaction
High‐cadence, wide field‐of‐view soft X‐ray, and ENA images can capture the motion of the bow shock and magnetopause
The magnetopause motion can reveal the magnetopause reconnection mode on a global scale
We present a statistical study of Jupiter’s disk X‐ray emissions using 19 years of Chandra X‐Ray Observatory (CXO) observations. Previous work has suggested that these emissions are consistent with ...solar X‐rays elastically scattered from Jupiter’s upper atmosphere. We showcase a new pulse invariant (PI) filtering method that minimizes instrumental effects which may produce unphysical trends in photon counts across the nearly two‐decade span of the observations. We compare the CXO results with solar X‐ray flux data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites X‐ray Sensor for the wavelength band 1–8 Å (long channel), to quantify the correlation between solar activity and Jovian disk counts. We find a statistically significant Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient of 0.9, which confirms that emitted Jovian disk X‐rays are predominantly governed by solar activity. We also utilize the high spatial resolution of the High Resolution Camera Instrument on‐board the CXO to map the disk photons to their positions on Jupiter’s surface. Voronoi tessellation diagrams were constructed with the Juno Reference Model through Perijove 9 internal field model overlaid to identify any spatial preference of equatorial photons. After accounting for area and scattering across the curved surface of the planet, we find a preference of Jovian disk emission at 2–3.5 Gauss surface magnetic field strength. This suggests that a portion of the disk X‐rays may be linked to processes other than solar scattering: the spatial preference associated with magnetic field strength may imply increased precipitation from the radiation belts, as previously postulated.
Plain Language Summary
The X‐ray radiation that Jupiter emits from the region around the equator, or disk region, behaves differently to the auroral X‐ray emissions (northern and southern lights). It has long been believed that these emissions are mainly caused by solar X‐rays that reflect off of the planet’s upper atmosphere, lighting up the disk. These high‐energy X‐ray emissions can be observed by the Earth‐orbiting Chandra X‐ray Observatory (CXO). There have been multiple X‐ray campaigns of Jupiter using Chandra from 2000 to 2019. Here, we compare this data with solar X‐ray data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites and identify a strong link between the disk X‐ray emissions and solar activity. The High Resolution Camera on‐board the CXO also enables us to pinpoint the location of these emissions, which we incorporate with magnetic field data from NASA’s Juno to provide a more complete picture of the conditions at Jupiter’s upper atmosphere.
Key Points
We present a statistical study of Jovian disk X‐rays from 19 years worth of Chandra data showing a strong correlation with solar X‐ray flux
Jovian disk emissions are predominantly governed by solar activity. Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient of 0.9 found between the data
Analysis of spatial morphology of the disk emissions reveals preference of disk emission at 2–3.5 Gauss magnetic field strength
Jupiter's X‐Ray and UV Dark Polar Region Dunn, W. R.; Weigt, D. M.; Grodent, D. ...
Geophysical research letters,
16 June 2022, Letnik:
49, Številka:
11
Journal Article, Web Resource
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We present 14 simultaneous Chandra X‐ray Observatory (CXO)‐Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of Jupiter's Northern X‐ray and ultraviolet (UV) aurorae from 2016 to 2019. Despite the variety of ...dynamic UV and X‐ray auroral structures, one region is conspicuous by its persistent absence of emission: the dark polar region (DPR). Previous HST observations have shown that very little UV emission is produced by the DPR. We find that the DPR also produces very few X‐ray photons. For all 14 observations, the low level of X‐ray emission from the DPR is consistent (within 2‐standard deviations) with scattered solar emission and/or photons spread by Chandra's Point Spread Function from known X‐ray‐bright regions. We therefore conclude that for these 14 observations the DPR produced no statistically significant detectable X‐ray signature.
Plain Language Summary
Jupiter produces the most powerful ultraviolet (UV) and X‐ray aurorae in the solar system. While the UV and X‐ray aurora of the planet have each been explored independently, previous work exploring the spatial connection between Jupiter's X‐ray and UV aurorae was limited to a single simultaneous Chandra X‐ray Observatory (CXO) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observation from 2003. Since 2016, the arrival of the Juno spacecraft at Jupiter has led to extensive observing campaigns with CXO and HST, resulting in many new simultaneous X‐ray‐UV observations. Here, we present the analysis of 14 simultaneous CXO and HST observations of Jupiter's Northern aurorae from 2016 to 2019. While much of the emission from these bright aurorae is dynamic, there is one region that is dim for all 14 observations: Jupiter's dark polar region. Previous observations of this region have shown that it produces very little UV light. However, the extent to which X‐ray light is produced by the region remained unexplored and could provide the key to identifying why the region is so dark and what this tells us about the Jovian system. Across these 14 observations, we find that the region produces no significant X‐ray emission.
Key Points
We compare 14 simultaneous Chandra X‐ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope UV observations of Jupiter's Northern Aurorae
We detect no statistically significant X‐ray emission from the UV dark polar region (DPR)
The DPR expands and the X‐ray and UV emission on the swirl region boundary shifts when the aurora show solar wind compression morphology
We compare Chandra and XMM‐Newton X‐ray observations of Jupiter during 2007 with a rich multi‐instrument data set including upstream in situ solar wind measurements from the New Horizons spacecraft, ...radio emissions from the Nançay Decametric Array and Wind/Waves, and ultraviolet (UV) observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. New Horizons data revealed two corotating interaction regions (CIRs) impacted Jupiter during these observations. Non‐Io decametric bursts and UV emissions brightened together and varied in phase with the CIRs. We characterize three types of X‐ray aurorae: hard X‐ray bremsstrahlung main emission, pulsed/flared soft X‐ray emissions, and a newly identified dim flickering (varying on short time scales, but quasi‐continuously present) aurora. For most observations, the X‐ray aurorae were dominated by pulsed/flaring emissions, with ion spectral lines that were best fit by iogenic plasma. However, the brightest X‐ray aurora was coincident with a magnetosphere expansion. For this observation, the aurorae were produced by both flickering emission and erratic pulses/flares. Auroral spectral models for this observation required the addition of solar wind ions to attain good fits, suggesting solar wind entry into the outer magnetosphere or directly into the pole for this particularly bright observation. X‐ray bremsstrahlung from high energy electrons was only bright for one observation, which was during a forward shock. This bremsstrahlung was spatially coincident with bright UV main emission (power > 1 TW) and X‐ray ion spectral line dusk emission, suggesting closening of upward and downward current systems during the shock. Otherwise, the bremsstrahlung was dim, and UV main emission power was also lower (<700 GW), suggesting their power scaled together.
Key Points
We characterize three types of X‐ray aurorae (main oval, ir/regular pulses, and flickering aurorae) and compare with radio, UV, and solar wind data
Non‐Io decametric bursts occurred with UV auroral brightening, and UV and hard X‐ray main auroral emission also brightened contemporaneously
Soft X‐ray aurora was best fit by iogenic (S, O) spectral lines except during magnetospheric expansion when solar wind ion lines were needed
We present results of global magnetohydrodynamic simulations which reconsider the relationship between the solar wind dynamic pressure (Pd) and magnetopause standoff distance (RSUB). We simulate the ...magnetospheric response to increases in the dynamic pressure by varying separately the solar wind density or velocity for northward and southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). We obtain different values of the power law indices N in the relation
RSUB∼Pd−1/N depending on which parameter, density, or velocity, has been varied and for which IMF orientation. The changes in the standoff distance are smaller (higher N) for a density increase for southward IMF and greater (smaller N) for a velocity increase. An enhancement of the solar wind velocity for a southward IMF increases the magnetopause reconnection rate and Region 1 current that move the magnetopause closer to the Earth than it appears in the case of density increase for the same dynamic pressure.
Plain Language Summary
The magnetopause is the boundary between the near‐Earth space, which is governed by the magnetic field produced in the Earth's core, and interplanetary space populated by the plasma emitted from the Sun called the solar wind. It is well known that the position of this boundary is defined by the balance of the pressures from both sides of the magnetopause and in a unique way depends on the velocity and density of the plasma in the interplanetary space. In this work, we reexamine the relationship between the magnetopause position and parameters of the solar wind by means of computer modeling. It is shown that the relationship between solar wind velocity and density and magnetopause position is more complex than originally thought. It is suggested that the pressure balance condition through the magnetopause depends on the continuing magnetic reconnection between the interplanetary and magnetospheric magnetic field lines and that the consequences of the reconnection change the relationship between the solar wind dynamic pressure and magnetopause boundary location.
Key Points
We reconsider the relation between the solar wind dynamic pressure and magnetopause standoff distance
The magnetopause reacts differently to density, and velocity increases for the same dynamic pressure
A new scaling law for magnetopause standoff distance is proposed
We use both solar wind observations and empirical magnetopause models to reconstruct time series of the magnetopause standoff distance for nearly five solar cycles. Since the average annual ...interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Bz is about zero, and the annual IMF cone angle varies between 54.0° and 61.2°, the magnetopause standoff distance on this timescale depends mostly on the solar wind dynamic pressure. The annual IMF magnitude well correlates with the sunspot number (SSN) with a zero time lag, while the annual solar wind dynamic pressure (Pdyn) correlates reasonably well with the SSN but with 3‐year time lag. At the same time, we find an anticorrelation between Pdyn and SSN in cycles 20–21 and a correlation in cycles 22–24 with 2‐year time lag. Both the annual solar wind density and velocity well correlate with the dynamic pressure, but the correlation coefficient is higher for density than for velocity. The 11‐year solar cycles in the dynamic pressure variations are superimposed by an increasing trend before 1991 and a decreasing trend between 1991 and 2009. The average annual solar wind dynamic pressure decreases by a factor of 3 from 1991 to 2009. Correspondingly, the predicted standoff distance in Lin et al.'s (2010, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JA014235) magnetopause model increases from 9.7 RE in 1991 to 11.6 RE in 2009. The annual SSN, IMF magnitude, and magnetospheric geomagnetic activity indices display the same trends as the dynamic pressure. We calculate extreme solar wind parameters and magnetopause standoff distance in each year using daily values and find that both extremely small and large standoff distances during a solar cycle preferably occur at solar maximum rather than at solar minimum.
Key Points
Average annual magnetopause standoff distance increased by nearly 2 RE from 1991 to 2009
Solar wind dynamic pressure anticorrelates with sunspot number in cycles 20–21 and correlates in cycles 22–24
The best correlation between annual solar wind dynamic pressure and sunspot number was found for 2‐ to 3‐year delay
In 2016 we carried out a Swift monitoring programme to track the X-ray hardness variability of eight type-I AGN over a year. The purpose of this monitoring was to find intense obscuration events in ...AGN, and thereby study them by triggering joint XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and HST observations. We successfully accomplished this for NGC 3783 in December 2016. We found heavy X-ray absorption produced by an obscuring outflow in this AGN. As a result of this obscuration, interesting absorption features appear in the UV and X-ray spectra, which are not present in the previous epochs. Namely, the obscuration produces broad and blue-shifted UV absorption lines of Lyα, C iv, and N v, together with a new high-ionisation component producing Fe xxv and Fe xxvi absorption lines. In soft X-rays, only narrow emission lines stand out above the diminished continuum as they are not absorbed by the obscurer. Our analysis shows that the obscurer partially covers the central source with a column density of few 1023 cm-2, outflowing with a velocity of few thousand km s-1. The obscuration in NGC 3783 is variable and lasts for about a month. Unlike the commonly seen warm-absorber winds at pc-scale distances from the black hole, the eclipsing wind in NGC 3783 is located at about 10 light days. Our results suggest that the obscuration is produced by an inhomogeneous and clumpy medium, consistent with clouds in the base of a radiatively driven disk wind at the outer broad-line region of the AGN.
The soft X‐ray emissions from the Earth's magnetosheath and cusp regions are simulated under different solar wind conditions, based on the PPMLR‐MHD code. The X‐ray images observed by a hypothetical ...telescope are presented, and the basic responses of the magnetopause and cusp regions are discernable in these images. From certain viewing geometries, the magnetopause position in the equatorial plane, as well as the latitudinal scales and azimuthal extent of cusp can be directly extracted from the X‐ray images. With these reconstructed positions, the issues we are able to analyze include but are not limited to the compression of magnetopause and widening of the cusp after an enhancement of solar wind flux, as well as the erosion of the magnetopause and equatorward motion of cusp after the southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field. Hence, the X‐ray imaging is an appropriate technique to study the large‐scale motion of magnetopause and cusps in response to solar wind variations.
Key Points
X‐ray images are estimated based on MHD simulations under different solar wind conditions
Responses of the magnetopause to solar wind changes are analyzed from X‐ray images
Responses of the cusp to solar wind variations are presented via X‐ray images
Our Swift monitoring program triggered two joint XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and HST observations on 11 and 21 December 2016 targeting NGC 3783 because its soft X-ray continuum was heavily obscured. ...Consequently, emission features, including the O VII radiative recombination continuum, stand out above the diminished continuum. We focus on the photoionized emission features in the December 2016 Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) spectra, and compare them to the time-averaged RGS spectrum obtained in 2000–2001 when the continuum was unobscured. A two-phase photoionized plasma is required to account for the narrow emission features. These narrow emission features are weakly varying between 2000–2001 and December 2016. We also find a statistically significant broad emission component in the time-averaged RGS spectrum in 2000–2001. This broad emission component is significantly weaker in December 2016, suggesting that the obscurer is farther away than the X-ray broad-line region. In addition, by analyzing the archival high-resolution X-ray spectra, we find that nine photoionized absorption components with different ionization parameters and kinematics are required for the warm absorber in X-rays.
On 15 September 2021, Chandra carried out a 40‐hr (∼4 jovian rotations) observation as part of its longest planetary campaign to study the drivers of jovian X‐ray aurora that may be linked to ...ultra‐low frequency (ULF) wave activity. During this time, Juno's orbit had taken the spacecraft into Jupiter's dusk magnetosphere. Here is believed to be the most probable location of ULF waves propagating along jovian magnetic field lines that drive the X‐ray auroral emissions. This is the first time that this region has been observed by an orbiter since Galileo >20 years ago, and never before has there been contemporaneous in situ and X‐ray observations. A 1D solar wind propagation model identifies a compression event near the midpoint of the 40‐hr observation window. The influence of a compression is confirmed when comparing the measured magnetic field in the dusk lobes of the magnetotail from Juno MAG data against a baseline lobe field model. Data from the Juno Waves instrument also show activation of broadband kilometric (bKOM) emissions during the arrival of the shock, a feature that has previously been observed during compression events. Therefore this is the first time we can fully analyze the morphological variability during the evolution of a shock. Wavelet transforms and Rayleigh testing are used to search for statistically significant quasi‐periodic pulsations (QPPs) of the X‐ray emissions in the data set, and find significant QPPs with periods of 25–26 min for the northern auroral X‐rays.
Key Points
We compare a 40‐hr Chandra observation of Jupiter's X‐ray aurora with in situ Juno measurements and a 1‐D solar wind propagation model
We find statistically significant quasi‐periodic pulsation with a ∼25 min period likely linked to the arrival of a solar wind compression
Using Juno MAG data form the dusk tail lobes, we infer the state of compression/loading of the magnetosphere
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