Cassini UVIS solar occultations by Saturn's F ring and the detection of collision-produced micron-sized dust

Our spectral analysis of the data shows no significant spectral features in the F ring, indicating that the particles must be at least 0.2 µm in radius. We apply a forward model of the solar occultations, accounting for the effects of diffracted light and the attenuated direct solar signal, to model the observed solar occultation light curves. These models constrain the optical depth, radial width, and particle size distribution of the F ring. We find that when the diffraction signature is present, we can best reproduce the occultation data using a particle population with an average effective particle size of less than 300 µm, while occultations without clear diffraction signals are best modeled using a population with an effective particle size larger than 400 µm.