Lamy, L; Schippers, P; Zarka, P; Cecconi, B; Arridge, CS; Dougherty, MK; Louarn, P; ... Coates, AJ; + view all Lamy, L; Schippers, P; Zarka, P; Cecconi, B; Arridge, CS; Dougherty, MK; Louarn, P; Andre, N; Kurth, WS; Mutel, RL; Gurnett, DA; Coates, AJ; - view fewer (2010) Properties of Saturn kilometric radiation measured within its source region. Geophysical Research Letters , 37 , Article L12104. 10.1029/2010GL043415.

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Abstract

On 17 October 2008, the Cassini spacecraft crossed the southern sources of Saturn kilometric radiation (SKR), while flying along high-latitude nightside magnetic field lines. In situ measurements allowed us to characterize for the first time the source region of an extra-terrestrial auroral radio emission. Using radio, magnetic field and particle observations, we show that SKR sources are surrounded by a hot tenuous plasma, in a region of upward field-aligned currents. Magnetic field lines supporting radio sources map a continuous, high-latitude and spiral-shaped auroral oval observed on the dawnside, consistent with enhanced auroral activity. Investigating the Cyclotron Maser Instability (CMI) as a mechanism responsible for SKR generation, we find that observed cutoff frequencies are consistent with radio waves amplified perpendicular to the magnetic field by hot (6 to 9 keV) resonant electrons, measured locally. Citation: Lamy, L., et al. (2010), Properties of Saturn kilometric radiation measured within its source region, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L12104, doi:10.1029/2010GL043415.

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