An alternative interpretation of Jupiter's “plasmapause”

It has recently been suggested that Io is an important source of ions for the plasma detected by Pioneer 10 in the inner magnetosphere of Jupiter. Assuming this to be true, we show that near the orbit of Io the central collector of the Pioneer‐10 plasma instrument could detect only inwardly diffusing ions created at a radial distance greater than that of the spacecraft. The rapid decrease in ion density observed beyond Io's orbit is attributed, at least partially, to this effect and thus may not represent a real plasma boundary such as a "plasmapause." Instead, the drop in observed ion density could correspond to a decrease in the density of Io‐associated neutral particles orbiting Jupiter.