[The Enceladus satellite as a source of N+ ions in Saturn's magnetosphere]
The first pass of the Cassini probe in the vicinity of Saturn, above the E-ring, demonstrated a plasma consisting of water group ions (H+, O+, OH+, H2O+) with a small N+ ion component (3%). Using a simple model for the transport of magnetospheric ions, we show that the N+ ions can be traced back to the Enceladus satellite. Such a result can be explained by the existence in this icy satellite, supposed to be still geologically active, of volatile components such as ammonia NH3, or by the previous implantation of N+ ions of external origin on its surface.
Le premier passage de la sonde Cassini dans l'environnement de Saturne, au dessus de l'anneau E, a mis en évidence l'existence d'un plasma composé d'un mélange d'ions issus des produits de l'eau (H+, O+, OH+, H2O+) avec une faible composante en ions N+ (3 %). A partir d'un modèle simple du transport des ions dans la magnétosphère, nous montrons que la source de ces ions N+ coïncide avec le satellite Encelade. Un tel résultat peut s'expliquer par la présence de composés volatiles tels que l'ammoniac NH3 sur ce satellite de glace, supposé encore actif géologiquement, ou par la présence d'ions N+ d'origine externe préalablement implantés sur sa surface.
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Keywords: Planetary science, Plasmas, Saturn, Rings and icy satellites, Magnetosphere
Mehdi Bouhram 1; Jean-Jacques Berthelier 1; Jean-Marie Illiano 1; Howard T. Smith 2; Edward C. Sittler 3; Frank J. Crary 4; Dave T. Young 4
@article{CRPHYS_2005__6_10_1176_0,
author = {Mehdi Bouhram and Jean-Jacques Berthelier and Jean-Marie Illiano and Howard T. Smith and Edward C. Sittler and Frank J. Crary and Dave T. Young},
title = {Le satellite {Encelade} source d'ions {N\protect\textsuperscript{+}} dans la magn\'etosph\`ere de {Saturne}},
journal = {Comptes Rendus. Physique},
pages = {1176--1181},
publisher = {Elsevier},
volume = {6},
number = {10},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1016/j.crhy.2005.12.008},
language = {fr},
}
TY - JOUR AU - Mehdi Bouhram AU - Jean-Jacques Berthelier AU - Jean-Marie Illiano AU - Howard T. Smith AU - Edward C. Sittler AU - Frank J. Crary AU - Dave T. Young TI - Le satellite Encelade source d'ions N+ dans la magnétosphère de Saturne JO - Comptes Rendus. Physique PY - 2005 SP - 1176 EP - 1181 VL - 6 IS - 10 PB - Elsevier DO - 10.1016/j.crhy.2005.12.008 LA - fr ID - CRPHYS_2005__6_10_1176_0 ER -
%0 Journal Article %A Mehdi Bouhram %A Jean-Jacques Berthelier %A Jean-Marie Illiano %A Howard T. Smith %A Edward C. Sittler %A Frank J. Crary %A Dave T. Young %T Le satellite Encelade source d'ions N+ dans la magnétosphère de Saturne %J Comptes Rendus. Physique %D 2005 %P 1176-1181 %V 6 %N 10 %I Elsevier %R 10.1016/j.crhy.2005.12.008 %G fr %F CRPHYS_2005__6_10_1176_0
Mehdi Bouhram; Jean-Jacques Berthelier; Jean-Marie Illiano; Howard T. Smith; Edward C. Sittler; Frank J. Crary; Dave T. Young. Le satellite Encelade source d'ions N+ dans la magnétosphère de Saturne. Comptes Rendus. Physique, Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics for very large telescopes, Volume 6 (2005) no. 10, pp. 1176-1181. doi : 10.1016/j.crhy.2005.12.008. https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/physique/articles/10.1016/j.crhy.2005.12.008/
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