University of Maryland LibrariesDigital Repository at the University of Maryland
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   DRUM
    • Theses and Dissertations from UMD
    • UMD Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   DRUM
    • Theses and Dissertations from UMD
    • UMD Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Spatial and Temporal Variations of the Suprathermal (3-220 keV/e) Ion Composition in Saturn's Equatorial Magnetosphere

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    DiFabio_umd_0117E_13091.pdf (30.24Mb)
    No. of downloads: 273

    Date
    2012
    Author
    DiFabio, Robert David
    Advisor
    Hamilton, Douglas C.
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    We have studied the composition of the suprathermal ions (3-220 keV/e) in Saturn's magnetosphere using data from the Charge-Energy-Mass Spectrometer (CHEMS) on the Cassini Saturn orbiter from 78 equatorial (Latitude = -10° to 10°) passes during the period 2004-2010. We use this data to determine how the suprathermal ion density and composition vary with time, energy, and distance from Saturn (L-shell). This information is used to study the relative importance of various sources of plasma and neutral particles and how they may vary with time. We also examine the loss and energization processes of the suprathermal ions. In Saturn's main ring current region (L=7-16), we find that the suprathermal ion composition is 63% W<super>+</super> (O<super>+</super>, OH<super>+</super>, H<sub>2</sub>O<super>+</super>, H<sub>3</sub>O<super>+</super>), 30% H<super>+</super>, 5.2% H<sub>2</sub><super>+</super>, 0.98% O<super>++</super>, 0.55% He<super>+</super>, and 0.10% He<super>++</super>. The C<super>+</super>/W<super>+</super> and N<super>+</super>/W<super>+</super> ratios are 0.0055 and 0.0078, respectively. The high abundance of W<super>+</super> indicates that the water plumes of Enceladus are the largest source of neutrals that, after ionization, become the plasma in Saturn's magnetosphere. Saturn's atmosphere, thought to be the strongest source of neutral H, and Titan's atmosphere, thought to be the strongest source of neutral H<sub>2</sub>, are also important. The low abundance of He<super>++</super> and He<super>+</super> indicates that the solar wind is a relatively minor source of plasma to Saturn's magnetosphere. The long-term time variations of W<super>+</super>, H<super>+</super>, and H<sub>2</sub><super>+</super> over the period 2004-2010 are quite modest while those of He<super>++</super> and He<super>+</super> are much larger. The small variation of the W<super>+</super> indicates that the strength of the Enceladus plumes is relatively constant on time scales of months or longer over this period. The partial number density of all suprathermal species combined increases inward from the outer reaches of the magnetosphere, peaks between L=8-10, and then decreases inward. These L variations are qualitatively consistent with inward radial diffusion followed by rapid loss processes inside of L=8-10. Changes in composition as a function of L and energy are largely a result of differences in collision lifetimes with Saturn's neutral cloud.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1903/12700
    Collections
    • Physics Theses and Dissertations
    • UMD Theses and Dissertations

    DRUM is brought to you by the University of Maryland Libraries
    University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7011 (301)314-1328.
    Please send us your comments.
    Web Accessibility
     

     

    Browse

    All of DRUMCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister
    Pages
    About DRUMAbout Download Statistics

    DRUM is brought to you by the University of Maryland Libraries
    University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-7011 (301)314-1328.
    Please send us your comments.
    Web Accessibility