Dataset for "Europa is embedded in non-Maxwellian, anisotropic electron distributions" (2026)

Read full text
Authors: Sean Ellis, Jamey Szalay, G. Livadiotis, Shane R. Carberry Mogan, F. Allegrini, Robert Ebert, M. Horányi, David McComas, Tait Oberg, Y. Sarkango, Ali Sulaiman
Cited by: 1

Abstract

In September 2022, the Juno spacecraft flew by Europa, providing new insight into the electron pitch angle and energy distributions via the Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment electron analyzers (JADE-E). We fit these observations with two anisotropic kappa distributions (cold and hot), accounting for spacecraft potential, which we find to be between -10V and -18V, indicating that dust grains near Europa's orbit are similarly charged. We find these distributions to be non-Maxwellian and often anisotropic, exhibiting substructure with ~20 km spatial resolution, providing constrained reaction rates and pathways within Europa’s atmosphere. We further provide constraints on the emission of UV photons from electrons impacts, finding near constant 1356Å/1304Å line ratios from O2, H2O and O. The electron beams, wake, and upstream/downstream regions all exhibit distinct characteristics across density, temperature, anisotropy, and thermodynamic kappa, illuminating the complexity of Europa's magnetospheric interaction.

Publication details

Journal / source
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Publication date
9 March 2026
Language
EN
Document type
Dataset