Assessment of Jovian synchrotron radiation with a bi-modal electron population

An explicit formula is developed to explore the mechanism of the synchrotron radiation by using a bi-modal loss-cone distribution function. The variation of the distribution function along the field line is modeled in detail and the evaluation of the total power in the synchrotron radiation is presented. The variance of synchrotron radiation with latitude depends on the electron anisotropy; for low anisotropy, synchrotron radiation increases with latitude and reaches a maximum at the particle mirror points; for high anisotropy, it decreases with latitude and maximizes at the equator. A bi-modal population is therefore suggested to explain the radiation intensity which peaks both at the equator and at high latitude. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.