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- Title
Alfvén Wing‐Like Structures in Titan's Magnetotail During T122‐T126 Flybys.
- Authors
Kim, Konstantin; Edberg, Niklas J. T.; Wahlund, Jan‐Erik; Vigren, Erik
- Abstract
In this paper, we study Titan's magnetotail using Cassini data from the T122‐T126 flybys. These consecutive flybys had a similar flyby geometry and occurred at similar Saturn magnetospheric conditions, enabling an analysis of the magnetotail's structure. Using measurements from Cassini's magnetometer (MAG) and Radio and Plasma Wave System/Langmuir probe (RPWS/LP) we identify several features consistent with reported findings from earlier flybys, for example, T9, T63 and T75. We find that the so‐called 'split' signature of the magnetotail becomes more prominent at distances of at least 3,260 km (1.3 RT) downstream of Titan. We also identify a specific signature of the sub‐alfvenic interaction of Titan with Saturn, the Alfvén wings, which are observed during the T123 and T124 flyby. A coordinate transformation is applied to mitigate variations in the upstream magnetic field, and all the flybys are projected into a new reference frame—aligned to the background magnetic field reference frame (BFA). We show that Titan's magnetotail is confined to a narrow region of around ∼4 RT YBFA. Finally, we analyze the general draping pattern in Titan's magnetotail throughout the TA to T126 flybys. Key Points: During the T123 and T124 Titan flybys an Alfvén wing‐like structure was detectedAn analysis of all tailside flybys reveals a clear bipolar draping of the magnetic field around TitanMagnetic field and plasma density are analyzed during T122‐T126 to estimate the escape rate in an magnetohydrodynamics regime
- Subjects
MAGNETIC fields; PLASMA waves; MAGNETIC declination; COORDINATE transformations; RADIO waves
- Publication
Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics, 2024, Vol 129, Issue 6, p1
- ISSN
2169-9380
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2023JA032265