Flux transfer event observation at Saturn's dayside magnetopause by the Cassini spacecraft
Coates, Andrew J.; Arridge, Christopher S.; Waite, J. Hunter; Jones, Geraint H.; Jia, Xianzhe; Slavin, James A.; Jasinski, Jamie M.; Sergis, Nick; Poh, Gangkai
United States, United Kingdom, Greece
Abstract
We present the first observation of a flux rope at Saturn's dayside magnetopause. This is an important result because it shows that the Saturnian magnetopause is conducive to multiple X-line reconnection and flux rope generation. Minimum variance analysis shows that the magnetic signature is consistent with a flux rope. The magnetic observations were well fitted to a constant-α force-free flux rope model. The radius and magnetic flux content of the rope are estimated to be 4600-8300 km and 0.2-0.8 MWb, respectively. Cassini also observed five traveling compression regions (remote signatures of flux ropes), in the adjacent magnetosphere. The magnetic flux content is compared to other estimates of flux opening via reconnection at Saturn.