HR: 1340h
AN: P23B-1366    [Abstracts]
TI: Titan's plasma environment: 3D hybrid simulation and comparison with observations
AU: * Lipatov, A S
EM: alipatov@umbc.edu
AF: GEST Center UMBC, 5523 Research Park Drive, Suite 320, Baltimore, MD 21228, United States
AU: Sittler, E C
EM: Edward.C.Sittler@nasa.gov
AF: NASA GSFC, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Code 673, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Hartle, R E
EM: Richard.E.Hartle@nasa.gov
AF: NASA GSFC, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Code 673, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AB: A multiscale combined (fluid--kinetic) numerical method allows us to use more realistic plasma models at Titan. This method takes into account charge-exchange and photoionization processes. We study the Titan's plasma environment in case of high, intermediate and low exosphere density in Chamberlain models. The background ions H⁺, O⁺ and pickup ions H₂⁺, CH₄⁺ and N₂⁺ are described in a kinetic approximation, where the electrons are approximated as a fluid. We also include an immobile ionosphere at the height 1300km. In this report we consider the multiscale spatial structure for plasma and electromagnetic field, and the velocity distribution of ions that results from the coupling between background ions and pickup ions. Special attention will be paid for the comparisons our numerical results with Voyager and Cassini observations (see e.g. [Sittler, Hartle, et al., 2005; Hartle, Sittler et al., 2006]). We shall estimate of mass loading rate for Ta, energy input to upper atmosphere from ambient +pickup ions, and the T9 encounter with two crossings. \newline E C Sittler Jr., R E Hartle, A F Vinas, R E Johnson, H T Smith and I Mueller-Wodarg, J. Geophys. Res., 110, A09302, 2005.
R E Hartle, E C Sittler, F M Neubauer, R E Johnson, et al., Planet. Space Sci., 54, 1211, 2006.

DE: 2459 Planetary ionospheres (5435, 5729, 6026)
DE: 2736 Magnetosphere/ionosphere interactions (2431)
DE: 2753 Numerical modeling
DE: 2780 Solar wind interactions with unmagnetized bodies
SC: Planetary Sciences [P]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting