On the injection of cosmic ray secondaries into the inner Saturnian magnetosphere: 1. Protons from the CRAND Process

Abstract

The energy spectra and pitch angle distributions of energetic protons injected into the inner Saturnian magnetosphere by the cosmic ray albedo neutron decay (CRAND) process have been calculated using the nucleon transport code HETC. These calculations predict spectra and pitch angle distributions consonant with the Pioneer and Voyager observations for proton energies above ∼50 MeV assuming that the ring particles are ice, not rock, and that the mean mass seen by the cosmic rays is several tens to a few hundred grams per square centimeter.