| 1. |
- Luhmann, J. G., et al.
(författare)
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Investigating magnetospheric interaction effects on Titan's ionosphere with the Cassini orbiter Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer, Langmuir Probe and magnetometer observations during targeted flybys
- 2012
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Ingår i: Icarus. - : Elsevier BV. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 219:2, s. 534-555
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the similar to 6 years since the Cassini spacecraft went into orbit around Saturn in 2004, roughly a dozen Titan flybys have occurred for which the Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) measured that moon's ionospheric density and composition. For these, and for the majority of the similar to 60 close flybys probing to altitudes down to similar to 950 km, Langmuir Probe electron densities were also obtained. These were all complemented by Cassini magnetometer observations of the magnetic fields affected by the Titan plasma interaction. Titan's ionosphere was expected to differ from those of other unmagnetized planetary bodies because of significant contributions from particle impact due to its magnetospheric environment. However, previous analyses of these data clearly showed the dominance of the solar photon source, with the possible exception of the nightside. This paper describes the collected ionospheric data obtained in the period between Cassini's Saturn Orbit Insertion in 2004 and 2009, and examines some of their basic characteristics with the goal of searching for magnetospheric influences. These influences might include effects on the altitude profiles of impact ionization by magnetospheric particles at the Titan orbit location, or by locally produced pickup ions freshly created in Titan's upper atmosphere. The effects of forces on the ionosphere associated with both the draped and penetrating external magnetic fields might also be discernable. A number of challenges arise in such investigations given both the observed order of magnitude variations in the magnetospheric particle sources and the unsteadiness of the magnetospheric magnetic field and plasma flows at Titan's (similar to 20Rs (Saturn Radius)) orbit. Transterminator flow of ionospheric plasma from the dayside may also supply some of the nightside ionosphere, complicating determination of the magnetospheric contribution. Moreover, we are limited by the sparse sampling of the ionosphere during the mission as the Titan interaction also depends on Saturn Local Time as well as possible intrinsic asymmetries and variations of Titan's neutral atmosphere. We use organizations of the data by key coordinate systems of the plasma interaction with Titan's ionosphere to help interpret the observations. The present analysis does not find clear characteristics of the magnetosphere's role in defining Titan's ionosphere. The observations confirm the presence of an ionosphere produced mainly by sunlight, and an absence of expected ionospheric field signatures in the data. Further investigation of the latter, in particular, may benefit from numerical experiments on the inner boundary conditions of 3D models including the plasma interaction and features such as neutral winds.
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| 2. |
- Madanian, H., et al.
(författare)
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Solar cycle variations in ion composition in the dayside ionosphere of Titan
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 121:8, s. 8013-8037
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- One Titanian year spans over two complete solar cycles, and the solar irradiance has a significant effect on ionospheric densities. Solar cycle 24 has been one of the quietest cycles on record. In this paper we show data from the Cassini ion and neutral mass spectrometer (INMS) and the radio and plasma wave science Langmuir probe spanning the time period from early 2005, at the declining phase of solar cycle 23, to late 2015 at the declining phase of solar cycle 24. Densities of different ion species measured by the INMS show a consistent enhancement for high solar activity, particularly near the ionospheric peak. The density enhancement is best seen in primary ion species such as CH3+ rather than heavier ion species such as HCNH+. Unlike at Earth, where the ionosphere and atmosphere thermally expand at high solar activity, at Titan the altitude of the ionospheric peak decreases, indicating that the underlying neutral atmosphere was less extensive. Among the major ion species, CH5+ shows the largest decrease in peak altitude, whereas heavy ions such as C3H5+ show very little decrease. We also calculate the ion production rates using a theoretical model and a simple empirical model using INMS data and show that these effectively predict the increased ion production rates at high solar activity.
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| 3. |
- Tobie, G., et al.
(författare)
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Science goals and mission concept for the future exploration of Titan and Enceladus
- 2014
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Ingår i: Planetary and Space Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-0633 .- 1873-5088. ; 104, s. 59-77
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Saturn's moons, Titan and Enceladus, are two of the Solar System's most enigmatic bodies and are prime targets for future space exploration. Titan provides an analogue for many processes relevant to the Earth, more generally to outer Solar System bodies, and a growing host of newly discovered icy exoplanets. Processes represented include atmospheric dynamics, complex organic chemistry, meteorological cycles (with methane as a working fluid), astrobiology, surface liquids and lakes, geology, fluvial and aeolian erosion, and interactions with an external plasma environment. In addition, exploring Enceladus over multiple targeted flybys will give us a unique opportunity to further study the most active icy moon in our Solar System as revealed by Cassini and to analyse in situ its active plume with highly capable instrumentation addressing its complex chemistry and dynamics. Enceladus' plume likely represents the most accessible samples from an extra-terrestrial liquid water environment in the Solar system, which has far reaching implications for many areas of planetary and biological science. Titan with its massive atmosphere and Enceladus with its active plume are prime planetary objects in the Outer Solar System to perform in situ investigations. In the present paper, we describe the science goals and key measurements to be performed by a future exploration mission involving a Saturn-Titan orbiter and a Titan balloon, which was proposed to ESA in response to the call for definition of the science themes of the next Large-class mission in 2013. The mission scenario is built around three complementary science goals: (A) Titan as an Earth-like system; (B) Enceladus as an active cryovolcanic moon; and (C) Chemistry of Titan and Enceladus - clues for the origin of life. The proposed measurements would provide a step change in our understanding of planetary processes and evolution, with many orders of magnitude improvement in temporal, spatial, and chemical resolution over that which is possible with Cassini-Huygens. This mission concept builds upon the successes of Cassini-Huygens and takes advantage of previous mission heritage in both remote sensing and in situ measurement technologies. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 4. |
- Westlake, J. H., et al.
(författare)
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The observed composition of ions outflowing from Titan
- 2012
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 39, s. L19104-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on Cassini Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) observations above Titan's exobase at altitudes of 2225 km to 3034 km. We observe significant densities of CH5+, HCNH+ and C2H5+ that require ion-molecule reactions to be produced in the quantities observed. The measured composition and ion velocity (about 0.8-1.5 km/s) suggest that the observed ions must have been created deep inside Titan's ionosphere (below the exobase) and then transported to the detection altitude. Plasma motion from below Titan's exobase to large distances can be driven by a combination of thermal pressure and magnetic forces. The observed outward flows may link the main ionosphere with the more distant wake and provide a source of hydrocarbon ions in the Saturnian system. Citation: Westlake, J. H., et al. (2012), The observed composition of ions outflowing from Titan, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L19104, doi: 10.1029/2012GL053079.
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| 5. |
- Blanc, M., et al.
(författare)
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Saturn Plasma Sources and Associated Transport Processes
- 2015
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Ingår i: Space Science Reviews. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0038-6308 .- 1572-9672. ; 192:1-4, s. 237-283
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article reviews the different sources of plasma for Saturn's magnetosphere, as they are known essentially from the scientific results of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan. At low and medium energies, the main plasma source is the cloud produced by the "geyser" activity of the small satellite Enceladus. Impact ionization of this cloud occurs to produce on the order of 100 kg/s of fresh plasma, a source which dominates all the other ones: Titan (which produces much less plasma than anticipated before the Cassini mission), the rings, the solar wind (a poorly known source due to the lack of quantitative knowledge of the degree of coupling between the solar wind and Saturn's magnetosphere), and the ionosphere. At higher energies, energetic particles are produced by energy diffusion and acceleration of lower energy plasma produced by the interchange instabilities induced by the rapid rotation of Saturn, and possibly, for the highest energy range, by contributions from the CRAND process acting inside Saturn's magnetosphere. Discussion of the transport and acceleration processes acting on these plasma sources shows the importance of rotation-induced radial transport and energization of the plasma, and also shows how much the unexpected planetary modulation of essentially all plasma parameters of Saturn's magnetosphere remains an unexplained mystery.
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| 6. |
- Westlake, J. H., et al.
(författare)
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Titan's ionospheric composition and structure : Photochemical modeling of Cassini INMS data
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 117, s. E01003-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Titan's upper atmosphere produces an ionosphere at high altitudes from photoionization and electron impact that exhibits complex chemical processes in which hydrocarbons and nitrogen-containing molecules are produced through ion-molecule reactions. The structure and composition of Titan's ionosphere has been extensively investigated by the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) onboard the Cassini spacecraft. We present a detailed study using linear correlation analysis, 1-D photochemical modeling, and empirical modeling of Titan's dayside ionosphere constrained by Cassini measurements. The 1-D photochemical model is found to reproduce the primary photoionization products of N(2) and CH(4). The major ions, CH(5)(+), C(2)H(5)(+), and HCNH(+) are studied extensively to determine the primary processes controlling their production and loss. To further investigate the chemistry of Titan's ionosphere we present an empirical model of the ion densities that calculates the ion densities using the production and loss rates derived from the INMS data. We find that the chemistry included in our model sufficiently reproduces the hydrocarbon species as observed by the INMS. However, we find that the chemistry from previous models appears insufficient to accurately reproduce the nitrogen-containing organic compound abundances observed by the INMS. The major ion, HCNH(+), is found to be overproduced in both the empirical and 1-D photochemical models. We analyze the processes producing and consuming HCNH(+) in order to determine the cause of this discrepancy. We find that a significant chemical loss process is needed. We suggest that the loss process must be with one of the major components, namely C(2)H(2), C(2)H(4), or H(2).
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| 7. |
- Richard, M. S., et al.
(författare)
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An empirical approach to modeling ion production rates in Titan's ionosphere I : Ion production rates on the dayside and globally
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 120:2, s. 1264-1280
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Titan's ionosphere is created when solar photons, energetic magnetospheric electrons or ions, and cosmic rays ionize the neutral atmosphere. Electron densities generated by current theoretical models are much larger than densities measured by instruments on board the Cassini orbiter. This model density overabundance must result either from overproduction or from insufficient loss of ions. This is the first of two papers that examines ion production rates in Titan's ionosphere, for the dayside and nightside ionosphere, respectively. The first (current) paper focuses on dayside ion production rates which are computed using solar ionization sources (photoionization and electron impact ionization by photoelectrons) between 1000 and 1400km. In addition to theoretical ion production rates, empirical ion production rates are derived from CH4, CH3+, and CH4+ densities measured by the INMS (Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer) for many Titan passes. The modeled and empirical production rate profiles from measured densities of N-2(+) and CH4+ are found to be in good agreement (to within 20%) for solar zenith angles between 15 and 90 degrees. This suggests that the overabundance of electrons in theoretical models of Titan's dayside ionosphere is not due to overproduction but to insufficient ion losses.
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| 8. |
- Mandt, Kathleen E., et al.
(författare)
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Ion densities and composition of Titan's upper atmosphere derived from the Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer : Analysis methods and comparison of measured ion densities to photochemical model simulations
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 117, s. E10006-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) has measured both neutral and ion species in Titan's upper atmosphere and ionosphere and the Enceladus plumes. Ion densities derived from INMS measurements are essential data for constraining photochemical models of Titan's ionosphere. The objective of this paper is to present an optimized method for converting raw data measured by INMS to ion densities. To do this, we conduct a detailed analysis of ground and in-flight calibration to constrain the instrument response to ion energy, the critical parameter on which the calibration is based. Data taken by the Cassini Radio Plasma Wave Science Langmuir Probe and the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer Ion Beam Spectrometer are used as independent measurement constraints in this analysis. Total ion densities derived with this method show good agreement with these data sets in the altitude region (similar to 1100-1400 km) where ion drift velocities are low and the mass of the ions is within the measurement range of the INMS (1-99 Daltons). Although ion densities calculated by the method presented here differ slightly from those presented in previous INMS publications, we find that the implications for the science presented in previous publications is mostly negligible. We demonstrate the role of the INMS ion densities in constraining photochemical models and find that (1) cross sections having high resolution as a function of wavelength are necessary for calculating the initial photoionization products and (2) there are disagreements between the measured ion densities representative of the initial steps in Titan photochemistry that require further investigation.
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