Plasma interactions of Saturn's icy satellites: Analytical modelling of MAG data from Enceladus, Dione and Rhea

Details Plasma interactions of Saturn's icy satellites: Analytical modelling of MAG data from Enceladus, Dione and Rhea Plasma interactions of Saturn's icy satellites: Analytical modelling of MAG data from Enceladus, Dione and Rhea

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsm21b2021s&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SM21B-2021

Physics

[2732] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetosphere Interactions With Satellites And Rings, [6280] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Saturnian Satellites

Scientific paper

We present an analytical model for the magnetic field perturbations that arise from the interaction of Saturn's icy satellites Enceladus, Dione and Rhea with the corotating plasma in the giant planet's inner magnetosphere. It is demonstrated that electron absorption by submicron dust grains within the plume plays a crucial role in understanding the field signatures measured near Enceladus. This process gives rise to a reversal in the sign of the Hall conductivity (Anti-Hall effect), thereby yielding a twist of the magnetic field that is visible in MAG data from all Enceladus flybys carried out to date. Model-data comparisons for Cassini's latest flybys of Enceladus are presented. Besides, we discuss Cassini magnetic field observations from the only two close flybys (16DI and 129DI) of Saturn's icy satellite Dione which have been carried out so far. Data from 16DI show a weak field perturbation in the upstream region, indicative of a tenuous atmosphere around the satellite. We demonstrate that an atmospheric column density on the order of 10^17/m2 would be required to sustain the observed field signature. The detection of such an atmosphere may be correlated to the occurrence of a transient radiation belt near Dione's L-shell at the time of 16DI. On the other hand, magnetic field observations from the subsequent downstream encounter 129DI show no clear evidence of an atmosphere, probably due to the flyby trajectory being unsuitable for the detection of the associated perturbations. Finally, we elaborate on the possible existence of a highly asymmetric atmosphere around Rhea, leaving a characteristic fingerprint in the magnetic field signatures observed during close flybys of this moon.

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