Modeling the Enceladus Plume--Plasma Interaction

Details Modeling the Enceladus Plume--Plasma Interaction Modeling the Enceladus Plume--Plasma Interaction

Dec 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufmsm32b..05f&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #SM32B-05

Physics

[2753] Magnetospheric Physics / Numerical Modeling, [5443] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Magnetospheres, [6280] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Saturnian Satellites

Scientific paper

We investigate the chemical interaction between Saturn's corotating plasma and Enceladus' volcanic plumes. The evolution of a parcel of ambient plasma passing through a prescribed H2O plume is estimated using a physical chemistry model based on the Io torus chemistry but adapted for water-group reactions. The flow field is assumed to be that of a plasma around an electrically-conducting obstacle centered on Enceladus and aligned with Saturn's magnetic field, consistent with Cassini magnetometer data. Our results suggest that charge exchange dominates the local chemistry and that H3O+ dominates the water-group composition downstream of the Enceladus plumes. We explore the effects on the physical chemistry of (1) a small population of hot electrons and (2) a flow decelerated in response to the pickup of fresh ions near the plumes. Charge exchange dominates the local interaction, leading to an H3O+-dominated local water-group chemistry. Pickup Rate/(kg s-1) Pickup rate from the plasma--plume interaction. We emphasize: (1) The possibility of hot electron beams at Enceladus, given the contraints on charge exchange + impact ionization pickup [0.2--3 kg s-1, Khurana et al. (2007); Saur et al. (2007); Burger et al. (2008)]. (2) Charge exchange dominates the local chemistry.

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