The precipitation of protons and electrons in Jupiter's auroral regions: a statistical comparison based on Juno/JEDI data

@misc{benmahi2026precipitation,
  title = {{The precipitation of protons and electrons in Jupiter's auroral regions: a statistical comparison based on Juno/JEDI data}},
  author = {B. Benmahi and N. André and V. Hue and Z. -Y. Liu and G. Gronoff and B. Mauk and B. Bonfond and T. Stallard and M. Blanc and M. Devinat and M. Barthélémy},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.34758},
  eprint = {2609.34758},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.34758},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - The precipitation of protons and electrons in Jupiter's auroral regions: a statistical comparison based on Juno/JEDI data
AU  - B. Benmahi
AU  - N. André
AU  - V. Hue
AU  - Z. -Y. Liu
AU  - G. Gronoff
AU  - B. Mauk
AU  - B. Bonfond
AU  - T. Stallard
AU  - M. Blanc
AU  - M. Devinat
AU  - M. Barthélémy
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/28
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.34758
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.34758
AB  - Energetic electrons dominate the energy precipitated into Jupiter's auroral regions, but protons precipitate along the same field lines, with a contribution that remains poorly constrained. We statistically compare the precipitating energy flux of protons and electrons in two of Jupiter's auroral sub-regions, the polar (PE) and main (ME) emission regions. We use Juno/JEDI data from PJ3 to PJ66. The magnetic footprint of the spacecraft, computed with the JRM33 and CON2020 field models, is assigned to one of the two sub-regions, and the precipitating energy flux of each species is obtained by integrating over the loss cone the mean differential intensity measured within it. In both sub-regions, the median proton energy flux is 52 to 223 times lower than that of the electrons, and the total precipitated proton power is less than 2% of the electron power. Proton fluxes are broadly distributed across the sub-regions, with higher values in the ME than in the PE. Protons play a secondary role in Jupiter's auroral energy budget, radiating an estimated 5 to 9 GW in the UV per sub-region, pending a dedicated proton transport modelling. Their Doppler signature in the red wing of the Lyman-α line, undetected by HST and difficult to access with Juno/UVS, is a key observable for the upcoming Juice and Europa Clipper missions.
ER  -