HR: 09:45h
AN: SM11B-08    [PDF]
TI: Modeling the electron and proton radiation belts of Saturn
AU: * Blanc, M
AF: Observatoire Midi-Pyr‚n‚es, Toulouse, Toulouse, F 7 France
AU: Bolton, S J
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 United States
AU: Santos-Costa, D
AF: Observatoire Midi-Pyr‚n‚es, Toulouse, Toulouse, F 7 France
AU: Maurice, S
AF: Observatoire Midi-Pyr‚n‚es, Toulouse, Toulouse, F 7 France
AU: Krupp, N
AF: Max Planck Institut fur Max Planck Institut fur Aeronomy, Lindau, Lindau, G 7 Germany
AU: Dandouras, I
AF: CESR, Toulouse, Toulouse, F 7 France
AB: Results of a physical model for energetic electrons and protons trapped in the inner magnetosphere of Saturn are presented. This radiation-belt model is built in order to improve our understanding of the radiation-belt population as observed during the Pioneer and Voyager flybys, before being used to predict radiation-belt fluxes and emissions for the Cassini Mission. The radiation-belt particle spatial distribution has been determined by modeling the trapped particle interactions with different components of the Saturn system: moons, dust rings, neutral clouds, plasma and magnetic field. Our results suggest some explanations on the dynamics of the radiation belts of Saturn. Absorption by ring particles is dominant in the [1; 2.3] Rs region (inducing low trapped electron and proton populations) while moons. local losses act as the prominent physical process in the outer part of the inner magnetosphere ([2.3; 6] Rs). Concerning the proton radiation belts model, beyond 2.3 Rs, interactions with neutrals also cause significant losses in the outer part of the inner magnetosphere. Our simulations predict a strong production of energetic neutral hydrogen atoms, but it predicts also a very weak synchrotron emission confirming the weakness of this radiation for Saturn. Comparisons between Voyager data and model results are displayed, and trapped particle fluxes along Cassini spacecraft are discussed.
DE: 6275 Saturn
SC: SPA - Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting