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[46.02] The Structure of the Magnetic Field around Titan

I. Sillanpaa, E. Kallio, P. Janhunen (FMI), K. Mursula, J. Vilppola, P. Tanskanen (Oulu University)

Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, has a unique magnetic interaction with the plasma of the Saturnian system. The plasma is characterized by sub/transsonic velocity and at least two main species of ions, namely oxygen/nitrogen and hygrogen. The gyroradii for these ions are 1.5 and 0.1 Titan radii for typical conditions.

We will present hybrid simulation results for Titan with an improved spacial resolution and will focus on the magnetic structures found around Titan. The ion densities and drift motions effect the formation of the magnetic barrier as well as the magnetotail. We believe that using kinetic hybrid simulations provides better understanding of the processes and dynamics of the plasma interaction of Titan than could be achieved by relying solely on MHD fluid modelling.

The Cassini mission is likely to provide the measuments by which the validity of the interaction models can be established.

The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: ilkka.sillanpaa@fmi.fi

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #3
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.