The Jovian ionospheric conductivity derived from a broadband precipitated electron distribution

The Pedersen ionospheric conductivity and conductance at Jupiter are computed assuming a broadband precipitating-electron flux and compared to values obtained when assuming a mono-energetic precipitating-electron flux. Among other results, it is found that the ratio between the broadband and the mono-energetic conductances depends on the electron mean energy of the precipitating-electron population. For a mono-energetic distribution, an optimal energy exists, around 30-40 keV, for which the conductance arising from the precipitation is maximal. If the mean electron energy is well below this optimal energy, the conductance calculated for a broadband distribution is enhanced compared to the mono-energetic case because part of the electron energy distribution reaches this optimal level. The conductance is also underestimated for a mono-energetic electron precipitation well above the optimal value. The opposite trend is observed around the optimal energy as most of the electrons of the broadband distribution have either lower or higher energies, while all electrons of the mono-energetic distribution have an energy close to the optimum.