INVESTIGADORES
BERTUCCI Cesar
artículos
Título:
Ion cyclotron waves in Saturn's E ring: Initial Cassini observations
Autor/es:
LEISNER, J. S.; RUSSELL, C. T.; DOUGHERTY, M. K.; BLANCO-CANO, X.; STRANGEWAY, R. J.; BERTUCCI, C.
Revista:
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Editorial:
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
Referencias:
Año: 2006
ISSN:
0094-8276
Resumen:
The magnetometer onboard the Cassini spacecraft observes ion cyclotron
waves produced by both water-group (O+, OH+,
H2O+, or H3O+) and
O2+ ions at nearly all radial distances and local
times within the E ring. These left-hand elliptically polarized waves
travel at small angles to the magnetic field and are restricted to near
the equatorial plane, where they have their peak amplitudes. They are
generated by pickup ions created by the ionization of the neutral
exosphere surrounding the E-ring material, and their subsequent
acceleration by the electric field associated with the corotating
plasma. The energy flux of these waves is proportional to the energy
added to the ions when they are accelerated and enables an estimate of
the rate of loss of the ring's exosphere.