Saturn's low-latitude boundary layer: 2. Electron structure

Abstract

[1] The boundary of a planetary magnetosphere is the site of mass, momentum, and energy transport. This transport produces a layer of mixed solar wind and magnetospheric plasma inside and adjacent to the boundary. In the case of Earth, the electron structure of this layer is distinctive, and has been explained by models of the layer on open magnetic field lines. In this paper we examine the electron structure of Saturn's low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) using observations made by the Cassini spacecraft; the typical properties and variability of Saturn's LLBL are examined in a companion paper. By analyzing the relationship between the electron density and temperature measured during Cassini magnetopause crossings we demonstrate that the electron structure of Saturn's LLBL is highly variable. At some of the crossings the structure of Saturn's LLBL is similar to previously reported examples of the structure of Earth's LLBL, where the major changes in electron density and temperature clearly occur in different regions of the layer, producing a distinctive shape to the temperature-density distribution. However, at many crossings the structure of Saturn's LLBL is unlike the previously reported examples of the structure of Earth's LLBL, since they lack the same distinctive shape to the distribution. We discuss the possible explanations for these differences in the electron structure of Saturn's LLBL, and what these differences could tell us about how the solar wind interacts with a planetary magnetosphere.