| Jupiter's magnetospheric dynamics are strongly influenced by the heavy-ion plasma supplied from its moon, Io. Volcanism on Io creates an atmosphere around the small moon which is eroded by impinging magnetospheric plasma. The atmospheric particles become ionized and are accelerated by the corotation electric field to join the background plasma. The detection of newborn ion generated cyclotron waves by the Galileo spacecraft in the vicinity of Io provides evidence of recent mass loading and the changing properties of the waves indicates the variability of the source of ions generating them. In this thesis, we use several simulation techniques to better understanding how changing plasma and pickup conditions at Io can affect the generated ion cyclotron waves as well as the large-scale density structure of the mass-loaded plasma.;First, we use a one-dimensional hybrid simulation which self-consistently models wave-particle interactions. We consider newborn SO+2 and SO+ in a ring velocity distribution, which is appropriate for Io, as well as a thermalized background plasma of O+ and S+. The ion rings scatter over time, becoming more isotropic and losing energy to ion cyclotron wave growth. To correlate the observed wave amplitudes with pickup ion densities, it is important to know how much energy each pickup ion loses to the waves. We find that, at any given time, less than 20% of the pickup ions energy resides in the waves.;Second, we use a two-dimensional particle tracing simulation which launches particles from Io and tracks how they move away from the moon under the influence of gravity and EM forces. In our mass-loading model, these particles become fast neutrals and can travel far from Io across magnetic field lines. The spatial extent of the particle distribution depends on conditions close to Io, such as the pickup velocity or the location of the particle source at Io. We also use a one-dimensional convection simulation to slowly transport the particle distributed radially outwards, as would occur to maintain steady-state conditions in the jovian magnetodisk. This slow convection builds up ion densities inside Io's orbital distance, in agreement with observations. |
