Electron density in the magnetosphere

Electron density in the magnetosphere

[1] Observations of the electron density ne based on measurement of the upper hybrid resonance frequency by the Polar spacecraft Plasma Wave Instrument (PWI) are available for March 1996 to September 1997, during which time the Polar orbit sampled all MLT values three times. In a previous study, we modeled the electron density dependence along field lines as ne = ne0(Rmax/R) , where ne0 is the ...

Equatorial electron density measurements in Saturn’s inner magnetosphere

Electron sources in Saturn’s magnetosphere

[1] We investigate the sources of two different electron components in Saturn’s inner magnetosphere (5 < L < 12 Rs) by performing phase space density (f(v)) analyses of electron measurements made by the Cassini CAPS instrument (1 eV to 28 keV). Because pitch angle distributions indicate that the traditional single particle invariants of gyration and bounce are not appropriate, we use a formulat...

Electron Signatures of Satellite Sweeping in the Magnetosphere of Uranus

The Voyager 2 Cosmic Ray System found large-scale macrosignatures of satellite sweeping for MeV electrons near the orbits of the satellites Miranda, Ariel, and Umbriel in the magnetosphere of Uranus. Due to the large magnetic inclinations of satellite orbits at Uranus, sweeping rates vary along the orbits with the McIlwain L parameter. However, no evidence was found, where expected, for fresh s...

Collective Ion Acceleration by Relativistic Electron Rings in the Magnetosphere

To Professor Arnulf Schlüter on his 60th Birthday Calculations are presented which show that the collective acceleration of ions by rings of relativistic electrons seems feasible in the polar regions of a dipolar magnetospheric field. The well known magnetic field of the earth is taken as an example and it is found that with rings of electrons of only 4 MeV initial energy, deuterons can be acce...