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Kelvin–Helmholtz‐Related Turbulent Heating at Saturn's Magnetopause Boundary
Author(s) -
Delamere P. A.,
Ng C. S.,
Damiano P. A.,
Neupane B. R.,
Johnson J. R.,
Burkholder B.,
Ma X.,
Nykyri K.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1029/2020ja028479
Subject(s) - physics , energy cascade , turbulence , saturn , magnetopause , mechanics , computational physics , plasma , context (archaeology) , helmholtz free energy , instability , planet , magnetosphere , astrophysics , thermodynamics , geology , paleontology , quantum mechanics
One of the grand challenge problems of the giant planet magnetospheres is the issue of nonadiabatic plasma heating. Simple turbulent heating models consider the energy cascade rate from one scale to another where the energy density is based on perpendicular magnetic fluctuations of counterpropagating Alfvén waves. Analytical expressions from turbulence theory for the heating rate density have yielded promising results for the observed ion heating at Jupiter and Saturn. Here, we compare ion heating using hybrid simulations of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability and analytical estimates in an effort to validate turbulence theory and further understand the nature of the ion heating. Heating rate densities ∼10 −15 W/m 3 are produced in our three‐dimensional Kelvin–Helmholtz simulations during the nonlinear growth phase and compare favorably with analytical estimates. Results targeting Saturn will be discussed in the broader context of radial plasma transport in the rapidly rotating magnetospheres.