The Faraday rotation effect in Saturn Kilometric Radiation observed by the CASSINI spacecraft

Ulrich Taubenschuss; Laurent Lamy; Georg Fischer; David Píša; Ondřej Santolík; Jan Souček; William S. Kurth; Baptiste Cecconi; Philippe Zarka; Helmut O. Rucker

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114661

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The Faraday rotation effect in Saturn Kilometric Radiation observed by the CASSINI spacecraft

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The Faraday rotation effect in Saturn Kilometric Radiation observed by the CASSINI spacecraft

Ulrich Taubenschuss, Laurent Lamy, Georg Fischer, David Píša, Ondřej Santolík, Jan Souček, William S. Kurth, Baptiste Cecconi, Philippe Zarka and Helmut O. Rucker

Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962), Vol.370, p.114661

12/2021

DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114661

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Abstract

Non-thermal radio emissions from Saturn, known as Saturn Kilometric Radiation (SKR), are analyzed for the Faraday rotation effect detected in Cassini RPWS High Frequency Receiver (HFR) observations. This phenomenon, which mainly affects the lower-frequency part of SKR below 200 kHz, is characterized by a rotation of the semi-major axis of the SKR polarization ellipse as a function of frequency during wave propagation through a birefringent plasma medium. Faraday rotation is found in 4.1% of all HFR data recorded by Cassini above 20 degrees northern and southern magnetic latitude, from mid-2004 to late 2017. A statistical visibility analysis shows that elliptically polarized SKR from the dawn source regions, when beamed toward high latitudes into the noon and afternoon local time sectors, is most likely to experience Faraday rotation along the ray path. The necessary conditions for Faraday rotation are discussed in terms of birefringent media and sharp plasma density gradients, where SKR (mostly R-X mode) gets split into the two circularly polarized modes R-X and L-O. By means of a case study we also demonstrate how Faraday rotation provides an estimate for the average plasma density along the ray path. •First statistical analysis of Faraday rotation in Saturn Kilometric Radiation.•Modeling of the source–observer geometry during Faraday rotation events.•Evidence for plasma density structures in the high-latitude magnetosphere of Saturn.•Application of Faraday rotation as a tool for probing the plasma density.

Cassini

Faraday rotation

Saturn kilometric radiation

Details

Title: Subtitle: The Faraday rotation effect in Saturn Kilometric Radiation observed by the CASSINI spacecraft
Creators: Ulrich Taubenschuss - Institute of Atmospheric Physics
Laurent Lamy - Observatoire de Paris
Georg Fischer - Space Research Institute
David Píša - Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Atmospheric Physics
Ondřej Santolík - Charles University
Jan Souček - Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Atmospheric Physics
William S. Kurth - University of Iowa
Baptiste Cecconi - Observatoire de Paris
Philippe Zarka - Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique
Helmut O. Rucker - Austrian Academy of Sciences
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962), Vol.370, p.114661
DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114661
ISSN: 0019-1035
eISSN: 1090-2643
Publisher: Elsevier Inc
Language: English
Date published: 12/2021
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9984455364302771

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