1,721,035 research outputs found
Reconnection events in Saturn's magnetotail: dependence of plasmoid occurrence on planetary period oscillation phase
No full textDuring its exploration of Saturn's magnetotail the Cassini magnetometer has detected many in situ examples of magnetic reconnection, in the form of plasmoids, traveling compression regions (TCRs), and dipolarizations. Meanwhile, many magnetospheric phenomena have been shown to be organized with particular regularity by planetary period oscillation systems driven separately from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres of the planet. Here we examine the relationship between the occurrence of plasmoids and TCRs and the magnetic phases of the northern and southern systems. We find a striking degree of organization of the events by both northern and southern phases, with events linked preferentially to intervals in which the magnetospheric plasma and field lines are displaced outward from the planet and the current sheet thinned, both effects being likely to favor the occurrence of reconnection and plasmoid-related mass loss. Little evidence is found for significant visibility effects associated with north-south motions of the plasma sheet
Planetary period modulations of Saturn's magnetotail current sheet: A simple illustrative mathematical model
No full textWe mathematically model the modulation effects on Saturn's equatorial magnetotail and magnetodisk current sheet produced by the combined magnetic field perturbations of the northern and southern planetary period oscillation (PPO) systems, specifically north-south displacements associated with the radial perturbation field and thickness modulations associated with the colatitudinal perturbation field. Since the phasing of the two PPO systems is taken to be related to the radial field perturbations, while the relative phasing of the colatitudinal perturbations is opposite for the two systems, the north-south oscillations reinforce when the two PPO systems are in phase, while the thickening-thinning effects reinforce when they are in antiphase. For intermediate relative phases we show that when the northern PPO system leads the southern the sheet is thicker when moving south to north than when moving north to south, while when the northern PPO system lags the southern the sheet is thicker when moving north to south than when moving south to north, thus leading to sawtooth profiles in the radial field for near-equatorial observers, of opposite senses in the two cases. Given empirically determined modulation amplitudes, the maximum sawtooth effect is found to be small when one system dominates the other, but becomes clear when the amplitude of one system lies within a factor of 2 of the other.</p
Planetary period oscillations in Saturn's magnetosphere: Further comments on the relationship between post-equinox properties deduced from magnetic field and Saturn kilometric radiation measurements
No full textWe discuss the planetary period oscillations (PPOs) observed by the Cassini spacecraft in Saturn's magnetosphere, in particular the relationship between the properties of the PPOs in the post-equinox interval as observed in magnetic field data by Andrews et al. (2012) and Provan et al. (2013, 2014) and in Saturn kilometric radiation (SKR) emissions by Fischer et al. (2014, 2015), whose results are somewhat discrepant. We show that differences in the reported PPO periods, a fundamental property which should be essentially identical in the two data sets, can largely be accounted for by the phenomenon of dual modulation of the SKR emissions in polarization-separated data, in which the modulation associated with one hemisphere is also present in the other. Misidentification of the modulations results in a reported reversal in the SKR periods in the initial post-equinox interval, south for north and vice versa, relative to the magnetic oscillations whose hemispheric origin is more securely identified through the field component phase relations. Dual modulation also results in the apparent occurrence of phase-locked common periods in the northern and southern SKR data during later intervals during which two separate periods are clearly discerned in the magnetic data through beat modulations in both phase and amplitude. We further show that the argument of Fischer et al. (2015) concerning the phase relation between the magnetic field oscillations and the SKR modulations is erroneous, the phase difference between them revealing the local time (LT) of the upward field-aligned current of the PPO current system at times of SKR modulation maxima. Furthermore, this LT is found to vary significantly over the Cassini mission from dawn, to dusk, and to noon, depending on the LT of apoapsis where the spacecraft spends most time. These variations are consistent with the view that the SKR modulation is fundamentally a rotating system like the magnetic perturbations, though complicated by the strong LT asymmetry in the strength of the sources, and rule out a mainly clock-like (strobe) modulation as argued by Fischer et al. (2015), for which no physical mechanism is suggested. We also elucidate the nature of the magnetic periods, criticized by Fischer et al. (2015), which have previously been derived in ∼100–200 day post-equinox intervals between abrupt changes in PPO properties, and further show that their argument that the magnetic phase data provide evidence for the occurrence of common phase-locked magnetic oscillations in some intervals is fallacious. The most important consequence of our results, however, is that they demonstrate the essential compatibility of the post-equinox magnetic field and SKR data, despite the contrary results published to date. They also show that due to the dual modulation effect in polarization-separated SKR data, analysis and interpretation may contain more subtleties than previously realized. Joint examination of the combined magnetic and SKR data clearly provides greater insight and enhanced confidence compared with analyses of these data sets individually
Planetary period oscillations in Saturn's magnetosphere: Further comments on the relationship between post-equinox properties deduced from magnetic field and Saturn kilometric radiation measurements
No full textAbstractWe discuss the planetary period oscillations (PPOs) observed by the Cassini spacecraft in Saturn's magnetosphere, in particular the relationship between the properties of the PPOs in the post-equinox interval as observed in magnetic field data by Andrews et al. (2012) and Provan et al. (2013, 2014) and in Saturn kilometric radiation (SKR) emissions by Fischer et al. (2014, 2015), whose results are somewhat discrepant. We show that differences in the reported PPO periods, a fundamental property which should be essentially identical in the two data sets, can largely be accounted for by the phenomenon of dual modulation of the SKR emissions in polarization-separated data, in which the modulation associated with one hemisphere is also present in the other. Misidentification of the modulations results in a reported reversal in the SKR periods in the initial post-equinox interval, south for north and vice versa, relative to the magnetic oscillations whose hemispheric origin is more securely identified through the field component phase relations. Dual modulation also results in the apparent occurrence of phase-locked common periods in the northern and southern SKR data during later intervals during which two separate periods are clearly discerned in the magnetic data through beat modulations in both phase and amplitude. We further show that the argument of Fischer et al. (2015) concerning the phase relation between the magnetic field oscillations and the SKR modulations is erroneous, the phase difference between them revealing the local time (LT) of the upward field-aligned current of the PPO current system at times of SKR modulation maxima. Furthermore, this LT is found to vary significantly over the Cassini mission from dawn, to dusk, and to noon, depending on the LT of apoapsis where the spacecraft spends most time. These variations are consistent with the view that the SKR modulation is fundamentally a rotating system like the magnetic perturbations, though complicated by the strong LT asymmetry in the strength of the sources, and rule out a mainly clock-like (strobe) modulation as argued by Fischer et al. (2015), for which no physical mechanism is suggested. We also elucidate the nature of the magnetic periods, criticized by Fischer et al. (2015), which have previously been derived in ∼100–200 day post-equinox intervals between abrupt changes in PPO properties, and further show that their argument that the magnetic phase data provide evidence for the occurrence of common phase-locked magnetic oscillations in some intervals is fallacious. The most important consequence of our results, however, is that they demonstrate the essential compatibility of the post-equinox magnetic field and SKR data, despite the contrary results published to date. They also show that due to the dual modulation effect in polarization-separated SKR data, analysis and interpretation may contain more subtleties than previously realized. Joint examination of the combined magnetic and SKR data clearly provides greater insight and enhanced confidence compared with analyses of these data sets individually
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Magnetic field oscillations near the planetary period in Saturn's equatorial magnetosphere: Variation of amplitude and phase with radial distance and local time
No full text[1] We present an analysis of the ∼11 h oscillations in Saturn's near-equatorial magnetic field, using Cassini data acquired during 2004–2007. We assume the oscillation period is given by the magnetic phase model derived by Provan et al. (2009) over the same interval, and use this to combine the data to determine the variation of the oscillation amplitude and phase of all three spherical polar field components with radial distance (∼3–30 RS) and local time (RS is Saturn's radius, 60,268 km). The oscillatory field behavior can be divided into two regions at a radial distance of ∼15 RS. In the inner region the radial and azimuthal components form a rotating field that to a first approximation is quasi-uniform, but shows major suppression and deflection effects around the near-planet region. Associated rotating field-aligned currents in the Enceladus torus are estimated to carry ∼±1 MA. In the outer region these field components form a rotating partial twin-vortex centered in the nightside, with associated North–South directed currents carrying ∼±6 MA. Individual current regions of a given sign emerge first at dusk, propagate via midnight, and dissipate near dawn, avoiding the dayside sector of weaker more uniform oscillatory fields. Oscillations in the colatitudinal field are also present throughout, that are generally in phase with the radial component. The oscillation phases of all components are found to increase with radial distance at all local times, indicating outward radial propagation with phase speeds of ∼200 km s−1 on the nightside and ∼500 km s−1 on the dayside
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Evidence for periodic variations in the thickness of Saturn’s nightside plasma sheet
Full text linkDuring certain portions of the Cassini mission to Saturn, Cassini made repeated and periodic crossings of the magnetospheric current sheet that lies near the magnetic equator and extends well down the magnetospheric tail. These repeated crossings are part of the puzzling set of planetary period variations in numerous magnetospheric properties that have been discovered at Saturn. During 2010 these periodic crossings often display asymmetries such that the northbound crossing occurs faster than the southbound crossing or vice versa, while at other times the crossings are more symmetric. The character of the crossings is well organized by the relative phase of the northern versus southern perturbation currents inferred in earlier analyses of the magnetic field observations. Further, the dependence of the character of the crossings on the relative phase is consistent with similar asymmetries predicted both by the dual rotating current systems inferred from magnetic field observations and by global MHD models that incorporate the effects of hypothesized atmospheric vortices. The two models are themselves in generally good agreement on those predictions. In both models the asymmetries are attributable to a periodic thickening and thinning of the magnetospheric current sheet, combined with a periodic vertical flapping of the sheet. The Cassini observations thus provide additional observational support to such current systems as a likely explanation for many of the known magnetospheric planetary period variations
- …
