Statistics – Computation
Scientific paper
Oct 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.2505k&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #25.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.996
Statistics
Computation
Scientific paper
Cassini first detected a water vapor plume near the warm, ice-covered south pole of Enceladus in 2005. Since then, more flybys have been made over the moon and have yielded spectacular images, details on the plume structure and composition, as well as the possible locations of the contributing sources. Observations suggest that the plume is composed of gas with tiny entrained ice particles. Based on the images and data from Cassini, we construct a hybrid model of the gas/particle plume. The model divides the plume into two regimes. The direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is used in the region near the vent where the plume is relatively dense and collisional. This model incorporates ice grains into the gas flow. The particle mass loading is assumed to be low, thus the coupling is only one-directional. The gas flow affects the particle motion but not the other way. A range of possible vent conditions is parametrically examined. The output of the DSMC model is fed into a computationally less-expensive free-molecular model that simulates the far-field, where collisions are negligible and the assumption of non-collisional dynamics is adequate. The free-molecular model utilizes several pre-defined point sources on the surface of Enceladus to produce a three-dimensional plume model, and includes the effects of a sublimation atmosphere, a sputtered atmosphere and background E-ring gas. The E3 and E5 flybys are simulated in the plume and the ideal results are convolved with a simulated instrument response function to account for adsorption and desorption rates of the INMS instrument. The outcome can be directly compared to the in-situ measurements from Cassini. Stellar occultation measurements during the flybys are also modeled. Simulation results may be used to constrain the physical conditions at the plume sources, such as temperature, velocity, vent geometry and plume generation mechanism.
Chapman T. A.
Goldstein David B.
Keat Yeoh Seng
Trafton Larry M.
Varghese Philip L.
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