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RPWS) Investigation Was Designed to Study Radio Emissions, Plasma Waves, Thermal Plasma, and Dust in the Vicinity of Saturn

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RPWS) Investigation Was Designed to Study Radio Emissions, Plasma Waves, Thermal Plasma, and Dust in the Vicinity of Saturn CASSINI FINAL MISSION REPORT 2019 1 RADIO AND PLASMA WAVE SCIENCE The Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) investigation was designed to study radio emissions, plasma waves, thermal plasma, and dust in the vicinity of Saturn. The science objectives included improving our knowledge of the rotational modulation of Saturn’s intense radio emission (SKR) and hence Saturn’s rotation rate, characterizing plasma waves associated with Saturn’s icy satellites and characterizing plasma density in the inner magnetosphere. RPWS was able to detect the dust hitting Cassini throughout the Saturn system and characterize lightning in Saturn’s atmosphere. RPWS was composed of an electric field sensor, a magnetic search coil assembly and a Langmuir probe. The electric field sensor consisted of three deployable antennas. The Langmuir probe, which measured electron density and temperature, was a metallic sphere that measured currents and voltages induced in the probe. 2 VOLUME 1: MISSION OVERVIEW & SCIENCE OBJECTIVES AND RESULTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The following investigators contributed to the Final Mission Report Volume 1: Mission Overview, Science Objectives and Results; Section 3.2: Instruments Science Results – Fields, Particles, and Waves Sensing Instruments – Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS). RPWS Principal Investigator (PI) and Deputy Principal Investigator (DPI): Donald A. Gurnett, PI (through October 2015) University of Iowa, U.S. William S. Kurth, PI (after October 2015); DPI (through October 2015) RPWS Investigators: George B. Hospodarsky, J. Douglas Menietti, Ann M. Persoon University of Iowa, U.S. Paul Kellogg, Keith Goetz University of Minnesota, U.S. William M. Farrell, Robert J. MacDowall, Michael D. Desch, Michael L. Kaiser Goddard Space Flight Center, U.S. Philippe Zarka, Alain Lecacheu, Baptiste Cecconi, Laurent Lamy Observatoire de Paris, France Philippe Louarn, Christopher C. Harvey CESR-CNRS, France Patrick Canu, Nicole Cornilleau-Wehrlin, Alain Roux CNET/LPP, France Patrick Galopeau, Ronan Modolo LATMOS/IPSL/UVSQ, France Les Woolliscroft, Hugo St. C. Alleyne University of Sheffield, United Kingdom Helmut O. Rucker, Peter Ladreiter, Georg Fischer Austrian Academy of Science, Space Research Institute, Austria Rolf Boström, Georg Gustafsson, Jan-Erik Wahlund, Michiko W. Morooka Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF-U), Sweden Arne Pedersen University of Oslo, Norway RPWS Publication Contributors: W. S. Kurth, W. M. Farrell, G. Fischer, D. A. Gurnett, G. B. Hospodarsky, L. Lamy, A. M. Persoon, A. H. Sulaiman, J.-E. Wahlund, S.-Y. Ye, P. Zarka CASSINI FINAL MISSION REPORT 2019 3 CONTENTS RADIO AND PLASMA WAVE SCIENCE .......................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary................................................................................................................................................ 6 Top Scientific Findings ................................................................................................................................. 6 Open Questions for Saturn System Science ............................................................................................... 7 RPWS Instrument Summary .................................................................................................................................. 8 Key Objectives for RPWS Instrument ..................................................................................................................... 9 RPWS Science Assessment ................................................................................................................................ 11 RPWS Saturn System Science Results ............................................................................................................... 13 Titan Science ............................................................................................................................................. 13 Icy Satellite Science ................................................................................................................................... 16 RPWS at Enceladus ........................................................................................................................ 16 Rhea interaction .............................................................................................................................. 20 Dust and Dusty Ring Science .................................................................................................................... 20 Magnetosphere-Ring Interaction Science .................................................................................................. 26 Saturn orbit insertion ....................................................................................................................... 27 Evidence for photolytic-driven rings ................................................................................................ 28 New main ring-magnetosphere current system ............................................................................... 29 Proximal orbit analysis and added evidence for the main ring-magnetosphere current system ..... 30 The spokes in the context of the ring-plasma cavity and ring current environmental systems........ 32 Radio Emissions and Periodicities ............................................................................................................. 33 Kilometric radiation .......................................................................................................................... 34 Narrowbanded emissions ................................................................................................................ 36 Saturn Drifting Bursts ...................................................................................................................... 36 Radio periodicities ........................................................................................................................... 36 Magnetosphere and Solar Wind Interactions Science ............................................................................... 39 Solar wind influence on the Saturnian magnetosphere and aurora ................................................ 39 Upstream Langmuir waves .............................................................................................................. 48 Lion Roar emissions ........................................................................................................................ 49 Bow shock shape and location ........................................................................................................ 49 Saturn Science—Lightning ........................................................................................................................ 50 Radio and imaging observations of Saturn lightning storms ........................................................... 51 Occurrence of SED storms .............................................................................................................. 52 The Great White Spot ...................................................................................................................... 53 Physical parameters of SEDs in comparison to Earth lightning ...................................................... 54 Lightning as a tool to investigate Saturn’s ionosphere .................................................................... 55 Saturn lightning whistlers ................................................................................................................ 56 Ground-based Saturn lightning observations for the future ............................................................. 57 Search for Titan lightning ................................................................................................................ 57 Saturn Science—Ionosphere ..................................................................................................................... 57 Plasma Waves ........................................................................................................................................... 58 Whistler mode chorus emissions ..................................................................................................... 59 Whistler mode auroral hiss emission ............................................................................................... 61 Electrostatic ECH and UHR emissions............................................................................................ 62 Open Questions for Saturn System Science ............................................................................................. 62 RPWS Non-Saturn Science Results ..................................................................................................................... 63 4 VOLUME 1: MISSION OVERVIEW & SCIENCE OBJECTIVES AND RESULTS Cruise Science ........................................................................................................................................... 63 Venus .............................................................................................................................................. 63 Earth ................................................................................................................................................ 63 Jupiter .............................................................................................................................................
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