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Main Authors: Kimura, Jun, Matsuo, Taro, Kobayashi, Hitomi, Ikeda, Yuji, Yoshioka, Kazuo, Takagi, Seiko, Ida, Shigeru
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.19053
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author Kimura, Jun
Matsuo, Taro
Kobayashi, Hitomi
Ikeda, Yuji
Yoshioka, Kazuo
Takagi, Seiko
Ida, Shigeru
author_facet Kimura, Jun
Matsuo, Taro
Kobayashi, Hitomi
Ikeda, Yuji
Yoshioka, Kazuo
Takagi, Seiko
Ida, Shigeru
contents We present near-infrared high-dispersion spectroscopic observations of Europa using the Infrared Camera and Spectrograph (IRCS) onboard the Subaru Telescope, seeking direct evidence of water plumes on Europa and exploring spatial variations in plume activity. Using high spectral/spatial resolution and sensitivity of Subaru/IRCS, our observations have enabled a spatially resolved search for water plumes on Europa. Within our detection limits and time of observation, we found no evidence for the presence of water emission. For a rotation temperature of 50 K, we derived an upper limit on the H$_{2}$O abundance of 9.46$\times$10$^{19}$ - 5.92$\times$10$^{20}$ m$^{-2}$ in each divided slit area and 4.61$\times$10$^{19}$ m$^{-2}$ in the entire area covered by the slit. This upper limit lies below the inferred water abundance from previous UV observations by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), while being less sensitive by a factor of three compared to the Keck telescope and by one order of magnitude or more than the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations. Our results align with previous studies and demonstrate that using Subaru/IRCS is an effective strategy for searching for water plumes on Europa with high spatial resolution. Continued observations across different surface areas and orbital phases are essential to fully characterize Europa's plume activity and complement upcoming space missions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_19053
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A search for water vapor plumes on Europa by spatially resolved spectroscopic observation using Subaru/IRCS
Kimura, Jun
Matsuo, Taro
Kobayashi, Hitomi
Ikeda, Yuji
Yoshioka, Kazuo
Takagi, Seiko
Ida, Shigeru
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
We present near-infrared high-dispersion spectroscopic observations of Europa using the Infrared Camera and Spectrograph (IRCS) onboard the Subaru Telescope, seeking direct evidence of water plumes on Europa and exploring spatial variations in plume activity. Using high spectral/spatial resolution and sensitivity of Subaru/IRCS, our observations have enabled a spatially resolved search for water plumes on Europa. Within our detection limits and time of observation, we found no evidence for the presence of water emission. For a rotation temperature of 50 K, we derived an upper limit on the H$_{2}$O abundance of 9.46$\times$10$^{19}$ - 5.92$\times$10$^{20}$ m$^{-2}$ in each divided slit area and 4.61$\times$10$^{19}$ m$^{-2}$ in the entire area covered by the slit. This upper limit lies below the inferred water abundance from previous UV observations by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), while being less sensitive by a factor of three compared to the Keck telescope and by one order of magnitude or more than the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations. Our results align with previous studies and demonstrate that using Subaru/IRCS is an effective strategy for searching for water plumes on Europa with high spatial resolution. Continued observations across different surface areas and orbital phases are essential to fully characterize Europa's plume activity and complement upcoming space missions.
title A search for water vapor plumes on Europa by spatially resolved spectroscopic observation using Subaru/IRCS
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.19053