Abundances and Energetics for Water Group Ions in Saturn's Magnetosphere

Details Abundances and Energetics for Water Group Ions in Saturn's Magnetosphere Abundances and Energetics for Water Group Ions in Saturn's Magnetosphere

Dec 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007agufm.p43a1033w&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #P43A-1033

Physics

2730 Magnetosphere: Inner, 5709 Composition (1060), 5737 Magnetospheres (2756), 5780 Tori And Exospheres

Scientific paper

We present magnetospheric ion composition results obtained from the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) time-of-flight instrument for orbits over a two year period in which Cassini was almost entirely in the dawn magnetosphere. Water group ions (O+,\ OH+,\ H2O+,\ H3O+; or collectively,\ W+) dominate over H+ in the inner magnetosphere to approximately L = 20. W+ ions are seen sporadically out to L = 36. Within the water group,\ O+ dominates at all distances, H3O+ is second to O+ for L < 5, H2O+ is second from L = 5 to L = 8, and OH+ is second for L > 10. The density of H3O+ peaks at L = 3 and drops off rapidly, becoming undetectable beyond L = 11 . The W+ group plasma has both a core and a high energy tail; characteristics of each component have a separate dynamical history and vary as a function of radial distance. The ratio of number densities for the tail to the core is seen to have a broad peak between 10 < L < 20,\ indicating a source mechanism in this location,\ possibly the ring current. Finally,\ we show how the time variation of W+ number densities at specific locations is indicative of bursty events in the magnetosphere.

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