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Equatorial electron density measurements in Saturn’s inner magnetosphere
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Equatorial electron density measurements in Saturn’s inner magnetosphere

A.M. Persoon, D.A. Gurnett, W.S. Kurth, G.B. Hospodarsky, J.B. Groene, P. Canu and M.K. Dougherty
Geophysical research letters, Vol.32(23), pp.L23105-n/a
12/2005
DOI: 10.1029/2005GL024294
url
https://hal.science/hal-00153699View
Open Access

Abstract

Upper hybrid resonance emissions detected by theRadio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument on theCassini spacecraft are used to obtain electron densities onfive equatorial orbits of Saturn at radial distances rangingfrom 3 to 9 saturnian radii (RS). The electron density profilesfor these orbits show a highly repeatable radial dependencebeyond 5 RS, decreasing with increasing radial distanceapproximately as (1/R)3.63. Inside 5 RS, the electron densityprofiles are highly variable. We show that these radialvariations are consistent with a centrifugally-drivenoutward transport of plasma from a source inside 5 RS.
Astrophysics Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics Physics Sciences of the Universe

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