The in-situ exploration of Jupiter’s radiation belts

Jupiter has the most complex and energetic radiation belts in our Solar System and one of the most challenging space environments to measure and characterize in-depth. Their hazardous environment is also a reason why so many spacecraft avoid flying directly through their most intense regions, thus explaining how Jupiter’s radiation belts have kept many of their secrets so well hidden, despite having been studied for decades. In this paper we argue why these secrets are worth unveiling. Jupiter’s radiation belts and the vast magnetosphere that encloses them constitute an unprecedented physical laboratory, suitable for interdisciplinary and novel scientific investigations: from studying fundamental high energy plasma physics processes which operate throughout the Universe, such as adiabatic charged particle acceleration and nonlinear wave-particle interactions, to exploiting the astrobiological consequences of energetic particle radiation. The in-situ exploration of the uninviting environment of Jupiter’s radiation belts presents us with many challenges in mission design, science planning, instrumentation, and technology. We address these challenges by reviewing the different options that exist for direct and indirect observations of this unique system. We stress the need for new instruments, the value of synergistic Earth and Jupiter-based remote sensing and in-situ investigations, and the vital importance of multi-spacecraft in-situ measurements. While simultaneous, multi-point in-situ observations have long become the standard for exploring electromagnetic interactions in the inner Solar System, they have never taken place at Jupiter or any strongly magnetized planet besides Earth. We conclude that a dedicated multi-spacecraft mission to Jupiter is an essential and obvious way forward for exploring the planet’s radiation belts. Besides guaranteeing numerous discoveries and huge leaps in our understanding of radiation belt systems, such a mission would also enable us to view Jupiter, its extended magnetosphere, moons, and rings under new light, with great benefits for space, planetary, and astrophysical sciences. For all these reasons, in-situ investigations of Jupiter’s radiation belts deserve to be given a high priority in the future exploration of our Solar System. This article is based on a White Paper submitted in response to the European Space Agency’s call for science themes for its Voyage 2050 programme.

X-rays observations at the Säntis Tower: Preliminary results

<p>X-ray production has been unambiguously observed in case of natural downward lightning and artificial rocket-and-wire lightning (e.g., [1],[2]). In the case of natural upward lightning, strong x-ray bursts have been observed from one event initiated from a wind turbine in Japan [3]. Low-energy x-rays have also been observed from upward flashes at the Gaisberg Tower in Austria [4].       </p><p>We present data associated with five negative upward flashes occurred at the Säntis Tower in Switzerland in 2020. The data consist of simultaneous measurements of x-rays from two different sensors, lightning current measurements at the tower and nearby electric field observations. X-ray emissions were observed prior to some of the return strokes in two out of the five flashes.</p><p>The observed X-rays, which were observed just prior to the return stroke phase, are characterized by initial bursts of some hundreds of keV, followed by a rapid increase to values exceeding 1 MeV, less than a microsecond before the initiation of the return stroke.</p><p>All of the observed X-ray events occurred for return strokes with relatively large peak currents (greater than 8 kA), which were preceded by high electric field changes. For that reason, our electric field sensor was saturated in most cases at about 5 microseconds prior to the initiation of the return stroke. The dynamic range of the electric field sensor has now been modified to avoid saturation, allowing to better identify the origin of the x-ray emissions in our future events.</p><p>For two out of the five analyzed upward negative flashes, we have also observed x-rays during the development of the dart leader phase. These observations are characterized by bursts with energy levels of several tens to hundreds of keV during the earlier phase of the dart leader process and exceeding 1 MeV during the late phase.</p><p> </p><p>[1] Moore, C. B., Eack, K. B., Aulich, G. D., & Rison, W. (2001). Energetic radiation associated with lightning stepped-leaders. Geophysical Research Letters, 28(11), 2141–2144. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001gl013140</p><p>[2] Dwyer, J. R. (2003). Energetic Radiation Produced During Rocket-Triggered Lightning. Science, 299(5607), 694–697. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1078940</p><p>[3] Bowers, G. S., Smith, D. M., Martinez‐McKinney, G. F., Kamogawa, M., Cummer, S. A., Dwyer, J. R., Wang, D., Stock, M., & Kawasaki, Z. (2017). Gamma Ray Signatures of Neutrons From a Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flash. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(19). https://doi.org/10.1002/2017gl075071</p><p>[4] Hettiarachchi, P., Cooray, V., Diendorfer, G., Pichler, H., Dwyer, J., & Rahman, M. (2018). X-ray Observations at Gaisberg Tower. Atmosphere, 9(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9010020</p>

Machine learning model of the plasmasphere to forecast satellite charging caused by solar storms.

<p>Solar storms are hazardous events consisting of a high emission of particles and radiation from the sun that can have adverse effect both in space and on Earth. In particular, the satellites can be damaged by energetic particles through surface and deep dielectric charging. The Prediction of Adverse effects of Geomagnetic storms and Energetic Radiation (PAGER) is an EU Horizon 2020 project, which aims to provide a forecast of satellite charging through a pipeline of algorithms connecting the solar activity with the satellite charging. The plasmasphere modeling is an essential component of this pipeline, as plasma density is a crucial parameter for evaluating surface charging. Moreover, plasma density in the plasmasphere has very significant scientific applications, as it controls the growth of waves and how waves interact with particles. Successful plasmasphere machine learning models have been already developed, using as input several geomagnetic indices. However, in the context of the PAGER project one is constrained to use solar wind features and Kp index, whose forecasts are provided by other components of the pipeline. Here, we develop a machine learning model of the plasma density using solar wind features and the Kp geomagnetic index. We validate and test the model by measuring its performance in particular during geomagnetic storms on independent datasets withheld from the training set and by comparing the model predictions with global images of He+ distribution in the Earth’s plasmasphere from the IMAGE Extreme UltraViolet (EUV) instrument. Finally, we present the results of both local and global plasma density reconstruction. </p>

Gyroresonant wave-particle interactions with chorus waves during extreme depletions of plasma density in the Van Allen radiation belts

The Van Allen Probes mission provides unique measurements of the most energetic radiation belt electrons at ultrarelativistic energies. Simultaneous observations of plasma waves allow for the routine inference of total plasma number density, a parameter that is very difficult to measure directly. On the basis of long-term observations in 2015, we show that the underlying plasma density has a controlling effect over acceleration to ultrarelativistic energies, which occurs only when the plasma number density drops down to very low values (~10 cm–3). Such low density creates preferential conditions for local diffusive acceleration of electrons from hundreds of kilo–electron volts up to >7 MeV. While previous models could not reproduce the local acceleration of electrons to such high energies, here we complement the observations with a numerical model to show that the conditions of extreme cold plasma depletion result in acceleration up to >7 MeV.

Time-resolved relaxation and cage opening in diamondoids following XUV ultrafast ionization

Unraveling ultrafast processes induced by energetic radiation is compulsory to understand the evolution of molecules under extreme excitation conditions. To describe these photo-induced processes, one needs to perform time-resolved experiments...

Calcium Carbonate Microparticles as Carriers of 224Ra: Impact of Specific Activity in Mice with Intraperitoneal Ovarian Cancer

Background: Patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer face a poor prognosis because of recurrent peritoneal cavity metastases following surgery and chemotherapy. Alpha-emitters may enable the efficient treatment of such disseminated diseases because of their short range and highly energetic radiation. Radium-224 is a candidate αemitter due to its convenient 3.6-day half-life, with more than 90% of the decay energy originating from α-particles. However, its inherent skeletal accumulation must be overcome to facilitate intraperitoneal delivery of the radiation dose. Therefore, 224Ra-labeled CaCO3 microparticles have been developed. Objective: The antitumor effect of CaCO3 microparticles as a carrier for 224Ra was investigated, with an emphasis on the ratio of activity to mass dose of CaCO3, that is, specific activity. Methods: Nude athymic mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with human ovarian cancer cells (ES-2) and treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of 224Ra-labeled CaCO3 microparticles with varying combinations of mass and activity dose, or cationic 224Ra in solution. Survival and ascites volume at sacrifice were evaluated. Results: Significant therapeutic effect was achieved for all tested specific activities ranging from 0.4 to 4.6 kBq/mg. Although treatment with a mean activity dose of 1305 kBq/kg of cationic 224Ra prolonged the survival compared with the control, equivalent median survival could be achieved with 224Ra-labeled microparticles with a mean dose of only 420 kBq/kg. The best outcome was achieved with the highest specific activities (2.6 and 4.6 kBq/mg). Conclusion: Radium-224-labeled CaCO3 microparticles present a promising therapy against cancer dissemination in body cavities.

Properties of flares and CMEs on EV Lac: possible erupting filament

ABSTRACT Flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are very powerful events in which energetic radiation and particles are ejected within a short time. These events thus can strongly affect planets that orbit these stars. This is particularly relevant for planets of M-stars, because these stars stay active for a long time during their evolution and yet potentially habitable planets orbit at short distance. Unfortunately, not much is known about the relation between flares and CMEs in M-stars as only very few CMEs have so far been observed in M-stars. In order to learn more about flares and CMEs on M-stars, we monitored the active M-star EV Lac spectroscopically at high resolution. We find 27 flares with energies between 1.6 × 1031 and 1.4 × 1032 erg in $\rm H\alpha$ during 127 h of spectroscopic monitoring and 49 flares with energies between 6.3 × 1031 and 1.1 × 1033 erg during the 457 h of Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observation. Statistical analysis shows that the ratio of the continuum flux in the TESS band to the energy emitted in $\rm H\alpha$ is 10.408 ± 0.026. Analysis of the spectra shows an increase in the flux of the He ii 4686 Å line during the impulsive phase of some flares. In three large flares, we detect a continuum source with a temperature between 6900 and 23 000 K. In none of the flares we find a clear CME event indicating that these must be very rare in active M-stars. However, in one relatively weak event, we found an asymmetry in the Balmer lines of ${\sim}220\, \rm km\, s^{-1}$, which we interpret as a signature of an erupting filament.

APPLICATION OF THE MCNP6.1 CODE TO ESTIMATE THE DIRECTIONAL DEPENDENCE OF RADIATION PROTECTION FACTOR VALUES FOR A SIMPLE SURROGATE VEHICLE

Radiation protection factor (RPF) values are relevant to various US defense and civil support organizations. An equation was developed to quantify the angular-dependent protection of a shielding configuration in the presence of a mono-energetic radiation field. Values of ambient dose equivalent, H*(10), were computed with version 6.1 of the Monte Carlo N-Particle Code (MCNP6.1) for more than 70 distinct, mono-energetic, planar photon and neutron fields using both the kerma approximation and energy deposition from primary and secondary radiations. The two computational approaches were compared, and the MCNP6.1 models were then modified to simulate the same radiation fields and compute values of directional dose equivalent, H′(10,α), in a tissue sphere centered inside a surrogate vehicle for 13 angles of incidence. Values of H*(10) and H′(10,α) were recast as energy- and angular-dependent RPF values for the incident field–shielding geometries and tabulated. Examples of implementation are provided, and limitations are discussed.

Search for Galactic Pevatron candidates in a population of unidentified γ-ray sources

Aims. A list of Pevatron candidates is presented to enable deeper observations and dedicated analyses. Methods. Lower limits on the energy cutoff for unidentified γ-ray sources detected in the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) Galactic plane survey were derived. Additional public data from the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System, HESS, and Milagro experiments were used for MGRO J1908+06 to confirm the limit derived from the HESS Galactic plane survey data and to enable further conclusions on the presence of spectral breaks. Results. Five Pevatron candidates are identified in the HESS Galactic plane survey. The cutoff of the γ-ray spectrum for these sources is larger than 20 TeV at 90% confidence level. The γ-ray sources MGRO J1908+06 and HESS J1641−463, found to be Pevatron candidates in the analysis of the HESS Galactic plane survey catalog, have already been discussed as Pevatron candidates. For MGRO J1908+06, the lower limit on the γ-ray energy cutoff is 30 TeV at 90% confidence level. This is a factor of almost two larger than previous results. Additionally, a break in the γ-ray spectrum at energies between 1 TeV and 10 TeV with an index change ΔΓ > 0.5 can be excluded at 90% confidence level for MGRO J1908+06. The energy cutoff of accelerated particles is larger than 100 TeV at 90% confidence level in a hadronic scenario for all five Pevatron candidates. A hadronic scenario is plausible for at least three of the Pevatron candidates, based on the presence of nearby molecular clouds and supernova remnants.