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Day-night asymmetries of low-energy electrons in Saturn's inner magnetosphere

DeJong, AD; Burch, JL; Goldstein, J; Coates, AJ; Crary, F; (2011) Day-night asymmetries of low-energy electrons in Saturn's inner magnetosphere. Geophysical Research Letters , 38 , Article L08106. 10.1029/2011GL047308. Green open access

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Abstract

We examine the day-night asymmetry of near-equatorial low energy (12-100 eV) electron fluxes measured by Cassini from July 1, 2004 through April 1, 2010. This energy range is also known to be associated with interchange injections. The electrons are separated into field-aligned (0 degrees to 20 degrees and 160 degrees to 180 degrees) pitch angles and trapped (70 degrees to 110 degrees) pitch angles. There is a stronger day-night asymmetry for the trapped than the field-aligned electrons, but both show enhanced energy fluxes on the nightside relative to the dayside. The dayside electron fluxes decrease sharply at an L-shell of 8, while the nightside electrons exhibit a slow decline in to L = 5. Our finding, along with previous research of high energy electrons, shows that this asymmetry is energy independent. This suggests that interchange injections are stronger, and therefore penetrate deeper into the magnetosphere, on the nightside.

Type: Article
Title: Day-night asymmetries of low-energy electrons in Saturn's inner magnetosphere
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1029/2011GL047308
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011GL047308
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union
Keywords: Plasma, Saturn, Magnetosphere, Electrons, Local time, Asymmetry
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1307489
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