Magnetosheath jets at Jupiter and across the solar system

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 4 - 8
• Main Authors: Zhou, Yufei, Raptis, Savvas, Wang, Shan, Shen, Chao, Ren, Nian, Ma, Lan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 09.01.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/33/525/869; 639/766/1960/1134; 704/445/846; Comparative analysis; Discontinuity; Earth; Earth magnetosphere; Humanities and Social Sciences; Jets; Jupiter; Magnetosheath; Mars; multidisciplinary; Parameters; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Solar system; Solar wind
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43942-4

The study of jets in the Earth’s magnetosheath has been a subject of extensive investigation for over a decade due to their profound impact on the geomagnetic environment and their close connection with shock dynamics. While the variability of the solar wind and its interaction with Earth’s magnetosphere provide valuable insights into jets across a range of parameters, a broader parameter space can be explored by examining the magnetosheath of other planets. Here we report the existence of anti-sunward and sunward jets in the Jovian magnetosheath and show their close association with magnetic discontinuities. The anti-sunward jets are possibly generated by a shock–discontinuity interaction. Finally, through a comparative analysis of jets observed at Earth, Mars, and Jupiter, we show that the size of jets scales with the size of bow shock. Jets have been found in Earth’s magnetosheath for two decades and, more recently, also in Mars. Yet, their universal existence in planetary magnetosheath remains an open question. Here, authors report the presence of anti-sunward and sunward jets at Jupiter and compare them to Earth and Mars.