1D Hybrid Simulations of Ion Cyclotron Wave Generation by Pickup Ions at Titan

Details 1D Hybrid Simulations of Ion Cyclotron Wave Generation by Pickup Ions at Titan 1D Hybrid Simulations of Ion Cyclotron Wave Generation by Pickup Ions at Titan

Dec 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufmsm23c1641c&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #SM23C-1641

Physics

Plasma Physics

[2732] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetosphere Interactions With Satellites And Rings, [6281] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Titan, [7829] Space Plasma Physics / Kinetic Waves And Instabilities

Scientific paper

The question of why ion cyclotron waves (ICW) are not observed at Titan despite evidence of strong mass-loading has not yet been answered. To address this issue we use the 1D hybrid simulation code (kinetic ions, inertialess fluid electrons) which has been used successfully in the past to simulate ICW generation by mass-loading at Jupiter’s moon, Io, and at Saturn’s E-ring neutral cloud. For the Titan environment we consider the newborn heavy ions with m = 16 (i.e. CH4+) in a perpendicular pickup geometry (B0 is exactly perpendicular to the bulk corotating plasma flow). The density of the pickup ions and the pickup velocity is varied to see the effect on the instability growth and the saturation wave amplitudes. In the magnetically noisy Titan environment, ICW amplitudes would ideally need to be above δB/B ~ 0.2 to be clearly observed. We find that these amplitudes are obtained in the simulation for a CH4+ pickup ion density greater than ~0.05 cm-3 if the pickup velocity is 120 km/s or greater than ~0.12 cm-3 if the pickup velocity is 80 km/s. These pickup ion densities are low compared to those modeled for the environment at Titan suggesting that, in a perpendicular pickup geometry at Titan, ICW should be seen.

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