Burch, JL and Goldstein, J and Mokashi, P and Lewis, WS and Paty, C and Young, DT and Coates, AJ and Dougherty, MK and Andre, N (2008) On the cause of Saturn's plasma periodicity. Geophysical Research Letters , 35 (14) , Article L14105. 10.1029/2008GL034951.
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Abstract
Periodic plasma enhancements are examined for all Cassini orbits from December 29, 2005 through September 7, 2006. The events, which have UT durations of 3-4 hours, are centered near SLS3 longitude 10 degrees at radial distances near 15 R-S and at larger W longitudes at larger distances, reaching 180 degrees W by 49 R-S. Magnetic-field data within the events and outside 30 to 35 R-S show signatures of neutral-sheet crossings and magnetic reconnection (i.e., plasmoids). We conclude that plasmoids move outward from 30-35 R-S along a spiral path that rotates with the planet. The duration of these events is similar to that of SKR events, and they are ordered in the SKR-based SLS3 longitude system. A conceptual model, in which the plasmoids are triggered in the pre-midnight quadrant following (with a predictable delay) the appearance of SKR at the magnetopause and then propagate outward in a rotating spiral pattern, can explain the connection among periodicities observed in Saturn's charged particles, magnetic fields, and kilometric radiation.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | On the cause of Saturn's plasma periodicity |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1029/2008GL034951 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2008GL034951 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union |
| Keywords: | Rotation period, Magnetic-field, Perturbations |
| UCL classification: | UCL > School of BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Space and Climate Physics |
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