Conditions at the magnetopause of Saturn and implications for the solar wind interaction

Using idealized models of the magnetosheath and magnetospheric magnetic fields, plasma densities, and plasma flow, we test for the steady state viability of processes mediating the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere of Saturn. The magnetopause is modeled as an asymmetric paraboloid with a standoff distance of approximate to 25R(S). We test where on the magnetopause surface largescale reconnection may be affected by either a shear flow or diamagnetic drift due to a pressure gradient across the magnetopause boundary. We also test for the onset of the KelvinHelmholtz instability. We find that, for the solar wind and magnetosphere states considered, reconnection is inhibited on the dawn flank due to the large shear flows in this region. Additionally, most of the dawn and dusk equatorial region of the magnetopause is KelvinHelmholtz unstable, due to the presence of the dense magnetospheric plasma sheet and weak magnetic fields on either side of the magnetopause. This study is a followup to a previously published study of the solar wind interaction with Jupiter's magnetosphere.