Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Woodfield EE
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6265320 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Woodfield E E EE Horne R B RB Glauert S A SA Menietti J D JD Shprits Y Y YY Kurth W S WS
Nature communications 20181129 1
At Saturn electrons are trapped in the planet's magnetic field and accelerated to relativistic energies to form the radiation belts, but how this dramatic increase in electron energy occurs is still unknown. Until now the mechanism of radial diffusion has been assumed but we show here that in-situ acceleration through wave particle interactions, which initial studies dismissed as ineffectual at Saturn, is in fact a vital part of the energetic particle dynamics there. We present evidence from num ...[more]