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arXiv · 0906.4141

Buoyancy waves in Pluto's high atmosphere: Implications for stellar occultations

W. B. Hubbard·D. W. McCarthy·C. A. Kulesa·S. D. Benecchi·M. J. Person·J. L. Elliot·A. A. S. Gulbis
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Abstract

We apply scintillation theory to stellar signal fluctuations in the high-resolution, high signal/noise, dual-wavelength data from the MMT observation of the 2007 March 18 occultation of P445.3 by Pluto. A well-defined high wavenumber cutoff in the fluctuations is consistent with viscous-thermal dissipation of buoyancy waves (internal gravity waves) in Pluto's high atmosphere, and provides strong evidence that the underlying density fluctuations are governed by the gravity-wave dispersion relation.

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W. B. Hubbard, D. W. McCarthy, C. A. Kulesa, S. D. Benecchi, M. J. Person, J. L. Elliot, A. A. S. Gulbis. 2009-06-22. Buoyancy waves in Pluto's high atmosphere: Implications for stellar occultations. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2009.06.022

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