A 3D MHD Simulation of Jupiter Magnetotail Interaction with a Variable Solar Wind
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Drake Alexander Ranquist1, Fran Bagenal1, Peter A Delamere2, Xuanye Ma2 and Antonius Otto2, (1)University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States, (2)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United States
Abstract:
Jupiter’s magnetosphere is the largest object within the heliosphere. Voyager 2 detected its influence at Saturn’s orbit, 4.3 AU away. It takes considerable time, therefore, for the solar wind to propagate such lengths down the tail. This propagation time is much greater than typical periods between changes in direction of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). We expect these variable magnetic fields to create a jumbled structure in Jupiter’s magnetotail, resulting in magnetic reconnection and other magnetic processes. We simulate the global interaction of the solar wind with Jupiter’s magnetosphere using a 3D magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) code. As argued by Delamere & Bagenal (2010), we assume this interaction is largely viscous, and use a viscous obstacle for the magnetosphere. We also use in situ data gathered by the Ulysses spacecraft near Jupiter’s orbit for solar wind input. Here, we report on the simulated dynamics in Jupiter’s tail region.
