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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Astron. Space Sci.
Sec. Space Physics
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fspas.2024.1479907
This article is part of the Research Topic Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences: A Decade of Discovery and Advancement - 10th Anniversary Conference View all 6 articles

Evolution of the flux tube instability parameters in plasma injections at Saturnian magnetosphere

Provisionally accepted
Simon Wing Simon Wing 1*Jay R Johnson Jay R Johnson 2Michelle Thomsen Michelle Thomsen 3Xuanye Ma Xuanye Ma 4
  • 1 Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
  • 2 Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States
  • 3 Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona, United States
  • 4 Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The evolution of the flux tube stability parameters in plasma injections at the Saturnian magnetosphere is reviewed. Plasma injections result from an imbalance in the centrifugal, total pressure gradient, and magnetic tension forces acting on plasma in the magnetosphere. Plasma originating from Enceladus tends to move outward due to centrifugal forces while reconnected flux tubes that are depleted of plasma collapse because of the magnetic tension leading to plasma injections. As the flux tube moves inward and contracts, the ambient density and pressure increase sufficiently to resist further collapse and the injected flux tube brakes. During this process the flux tube may also lose its integrity due to particle drifts, which allow exchange of plasma with adjacent flux tubes so as to bring the flux tube closer to equilibrium and stability so that it is indistinguishable from adjacent plasma. Stability parameters using this energy approach are defined and examined. The results show that the net forces push the plasma moves inward for L>11 and outward for L<8.5, while equilibrium is generally reached for 8.5< L< 11, where L is the equatorial magnetic field crossing measured in Saturnian radii. The evolution of the stability parameters can also apply to Jovian and other fast rotating planetary magnetospheres.

    Keywords: flux tube interchange, Plasma injection, flux tube entropy, Saturn magnetosphere, flux tube entropy instability, braking of plasma injection, Rayle igh-Taylor instability

    Received: 13 Aug 2024; Accepted: 18 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wing, Johnson, Thomsen and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Simon Wing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States

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