Speaker: Prof. Nick Achilleos (UCL)
Title: The Nature of Rotation-Dominated Magnetospheres
Abstract:The magnetospheres of the Solar System’s ‘gas giants’ – Jupiter and Saturn – feature enormous discs of rotating plasma, whose ultimate source is active moons (Io and Enceladus) which orbit these worlds. We can study the forces at work in these structures through the application of equilibrium models to magnetometer / plasma observations from spacecraft such as Cassini, Galileo and Juno. In this talk, we will consider examples of such modelling exercises and what they can tell us, not only about the plasma itself, but also about how energy and momentum are continually transferred between the disc and its parent planet. We will also consider the central role played by the plasma disk in shaping the electromagnetic environments of moons such as Titan and Ganymede.