Enhanced precipitation of energetic protons due to Uranus' asymmetric magnetic field
Author(s)
Acevski, Matthew
Masters, Adam
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Uranus remains one of the most unexplored planets in our solar system, featuring a distinctive magnetic field structure first observed by NASA's Voyager 2 mission almost 40 years ago. Uranus is particularly notable for its pronounced magnetic field asymmetry, a characteristic unique to the icy giants. Here we show that, in the region where Voyager 2 did not pass (< 4 Ru
), the asymmetric magnetic field can distort the trajectories of high energy protons within Uranus' radiation belts such that the particles hit the planet when they otherwise would not have (in a traditional dipole field). This implies that radiation belt protons which start with pitch angles well outside their respective loss cones can drift into a region where the loss cone is much bigger and then precipitate. This occurs preferentially in the magnetic north pole due to its significantly weaker surface field strength.
), the asymmetric magnetic field can distort the trajectories of high energy protons within Uranus' radiation belts such that the particles hit the planet when they otherwise would not have (in a traditional dipole field). This implies that radiation belt protons which start with pitch angles well outside their respective loss cones can drift into a region where the loss cone is much bigger and then precipitate. This occurs preferentially in the magnetic north pole due to its significantly weaker surface field strength.
Date Issued
2024-12-28
Date Acceptance
2024-11-21
Citation
Geophysical Research Letters, 2024, 51 (24)
ISSN
0094-8276
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
51
Issue
24
Copyright Statement
© 2024. The Author(s).
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GL112281
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e2024GL112281
Date Publish Online
2024-12-22