The green light of the night sky     

D.R. Bates 《Planetary and Space Science》1981,29(10):1061-1067

The development of the theory of the 5577 Å emission from the upper atmosphere is reviewed. Evidence from both aeronomy and chemical kinetics shows that the Barth mechanism is a much more important source of $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}\text{)}$ than in the Chapman process. The molecular oxygen state involved is probably c¹Σ^?_u (the upper state of the Herzberg II band system).  相似文献   

The O(1S) quantum yield from O2+ dissociative recombination     

D.R. Bates  E.C. Zipf 《Planetary and Space Science》1980,28(11):1081-1086

Recent laboratory studies show that the $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}\text{)}$ quantum yield, $\text{f}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}\text{)}$, from O₂⁺ dissociative recombination varies considerably with the degree r of vibrational excitation. However, the suggestion that the high values for $\text{f}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}\text{)}$ deduced from airglow and auroral observations can be explained by invoking vibrational excitation, creates a number of problems. Firstly, the rapid vibrational deactivation of O₂⁺ ions by collisions with O atoms will keep r too low to account for the magnitude of $\text{f}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}\text{)}$; secondly, r varies considerably from one atmospheric source to another but its relative values (which should be reliable) do not co-vary with those of $\text{f}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}\text{)}$; thirdly, because r increases markedly above the peak of the $\text{X5577}\text{A}\text{?}$ dissociative recombination layer, the fits which theorists have obtained to the observed volume emission rate profiles would have to be regarded as fortuitious. It is tentatively suggested that $\text{f}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}\text{)}$ is higher in the airglow and aurora than in the laboratory plasma studied by Zipf (1980) because of the electron temperature dependence of the $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}\text{)}$ specific recombination coefficient for O₂⁺(v^' ? 3) ions.The repulsive ${}^1\text{Σ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>u</mtext>}}\text{[}{}^1\text{D}\text{+}{}^1\text{s}\text{]}$ state of O₂ does not provide a suitable channel for the dissociative recombination. A possible alternative is the bound ${}^3\text{Π}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>u</mtext>}}\text{[}{}^5\text{S}\text{+}{}^3\text{s}\text{]}$ state with predissociation to the repulsive ${}^3\text{Π}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>u</mtext>}}\text{[}{}^3\text{P}\text{+}{}^1\text{s}\text{]}$ state.  相似文献   

Auroral implications of recent measurements on O(1S) and O(1S) formation in the reaction of N+ with O2     

Andrew O. Langford  Veronica M. Bierbaum  Stephen R. Leone 《Planetary and Space Science》1985,33(10):1225-1228

Recent flowing afterglow measurements have shown that the reaction of N⁺ with O₂ produces 70 ± 30% of the oxygen atom product as $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{D}\text{)}$ and < 0.1% as $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}\text{)}$. These results indicate that this reaction does not contribute to the auroral green line emission (5577 Å), but can account for ～10% of the observed red line (6300 Å) auroral emission.  相似文献   

A discussion of the energy transfer from N₂(A³Σ_u⁺) to $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}$) in pulsating aurora     

Asgeir Brekke 《Planetary and Space Science》1973,21(4):698-702

In a recent paper, Brekke and Pettersen (1972) have introduced a method for estimating any indirect process in the production of the $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}$) atoms in pulsating aurora; for 38 per cent of their data they found that the decay time for the indirect mechanism was shorter than the effective lifetime of the ${}^1\text{S}$ state. These data are related to the energy transfer from the N₂(A³Σ) molecules to the $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{S)}$ state, and evidence is found for this process to contribute in the altitude range below 125 km.  相似文献   

Aeronomical determination of the efficiency of O¹D) production by dissociative recombination of O₂⁺     

L.L. Cogger  L.S. Smith  R.M. Harper 《Planetary and Space Science》1977,25(2):155-159

Simultaneous measurements of the 6300 Å airglow intensity, the electron density profile, and F-region ion temperatures and vertical ion velocities taken at the Arecibo Observatory in March 1971 are utilized in the height integrated continuity equation to extract the number of photons'of 6300 Å emitted per recombination. After accounting for quenching of $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{D}\text{)}$ and the electrons lost via NO⁺ recombination, the efficiency of $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{D}\text{)}$ production by the dissociative recombination of O₂⁺ is determined to be 0.6 ± 0.2 including cascading from the $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{S}\text{)}$ state. The uncertainty includes both random measurement errors and estimates of possible systematic errors.  相似文献   

Emission line shapes produced by dissociative excitation of atmospheric gases     

E.C. Zipf  W.C. Wells 《Planetary and Space Science》1980,28(8):859-866

Special line shapes are derived fro the λ 1356 Å (${}^5\text{S}{}^0\text{-}{}^3\text{P}$) transition of atomic oxygen from metastable (${}^5\text{S}{}^0\text{-}{}^3\text{P}$) time-of-flight spectra produced by electron impact dissociative excitation of O₂, CO₂, CO, and NO, and they are compared with the broadened λ 1304 A resonance line shapes deduced by Poland and Lawrence (1973) from atomic oxygen absorption studies. The non-thermal line shapes for both airglow emission features are shown to have an effective width comparable to a 60,000 K thermal doppler line shape for an electron impact energy of 100eV. The variation of the effective line width with electron-impact energy from threshold to 300 eV is given. Since the effective line width of the resonance radiation produced by dissociative excitation is very large compared with the doppler absorption widths of the ambient O atoms at normal exospheric temperatures, the anomalously broadened resonance lines will propagate through a planetary atmosphere as though they were optically thin. Thus, electron-impact dissociation of CO and CO₂ will contribute to the observed optically thin component of the λ 1304 Å emission in the upper atmospheres of Venus and Mars. However, the process cannot account for more than 10% of the observed optically thin emission because of the small magnitude of the excitation cross-section and the comparatively high-energy threshold for the process. The possibility that the source of the kinetically energetic $\text{O}\text{(}{}^3\text{S}$) atoms is the dissociative recombination of vibrationally excited CO₂⁺ ions is discussed.  相似文献   

An indirect mechanism for the production of O(¹S) in the aurora     

B.H. Solheim  E.J. Llewellyn 《Planetary and Space Science》1979,27(4):473-479

Recent laboratory measurements of the deactivation rate constants for O(¹S) have suggested that the dominant production mechanism for the green line in the nightglow is a two-step process. A similar mechanism involving energy transfer from an excited state of molecular oxygen is considered as a potential source of the OI (5577 Å) emission in the aurora. It is shown that the mechanism, $\text{O}{}_2\text{+ e → O}{}_2{}^1\text{+ e O}{}_2{}^1\text{+ O → O}{}_2\text{+ O(}{}^1\text{S}\text{)}$, is consistent with auroral observations; the intermediate excited state has been tentatively identified as the O₂(c¹∑^?_u) state. For the proposed energy transfer mechanism to be the primary source of the auroral green line, the peak electron impact cross-section for O₂¹ production must be approximately 2 × 10^?17 cm².  相似文献   

The possible effects of translationally excited nitrogen atoms on lower thermospheric odd nitrogen     

Susan Solomon 《Planetary and Space Science》1983,31(1):135-139

In the quiet lower thermosphere, photolysis of N₂ produces translationally excited $\text{N}\text{(}{}^4\text{S}\text{)}$ and $\text{N}\text{(}{}^2\text{D}\text{)}$ atoms. A fraction of these $\text{N}\text{(}{}^4\text{S}\text{)}$ atoms may react rapidly with O₂ while still translationally hot. This results in substantially larger calculated NO densities than those obtained if translational excitation is not considered. The sensitivity of the calculated NO density in the lower thermosphere to this process is examined.  相似文献   

Distribution functions for energetic oxygen atoms in the earth's lower atmosphere     

Jennifer A. Logan  Michael B. McElroy 《Planetary and Space Science》1977,25(2):117-122

Direct photolysis of O₃ and quenching of $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{D}\text{)}$ by N₂ provide abundant sources of fast oxygen atoms for the Earth's lower atmosphere. The concentration of atoms with energy above 0.7 eV may exceed the concentration of $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{D}\text{)}$ for all altitudes below 18 km and these atoms may play an important role in lower atmospheric chemistry. Distribution functions for $\text{O}\text{(}{}^3\text{P}\text{)}$ are given for the energy interval 0.1-1.3 eV, for a range of altitudes from 0 to 62 km.  相似文献   

Changes in the concentration of mesospheric ozone during the total solar eclipse     

V.V. Agashe  S.M. Rathi 《Planetary and Space Science》1982,30(5):507-513

Measurements of dayglow radiance of $\text{O}{}_2\text{(}{}^1\text{Δ}{}_{\mathrm{g}}\text{)}$ and OH(7,2) bands are reported. Ground based photometers were used to monitor zenith radiance of 1270 and 694 nm emissions during the total solar eclipse of 16 February 1980. Altitude distribution of 1270 nm intensity was derived from ground based observations. A set of altitude distributions of $\text{O}{}_2\text{(}{}^1\text{Δ}{}_{\mathrm{g}}\text{)}$ were thus obtained throughout the eclipse. These altitude distributions were converted into ozone distributions using the rate equations for formation and loss of ozone and $\text{O}{}_2\text{(}{}^1\text{Δ}{}_{\mathrm{g}}\text{)}$ molecules. Results indicate an increase in the ozone concentration at mid-eclipse. OH(7,2) emission did not show enhancement during totality. This may mean that there was no increase in OH concentration during the eclipse.  相似文献   

Branching ratios for the photoionization cross section of atomic oxygen     

A.K. Pradhan 《Planetary and Space Science》1980,28(2):165-167

Branching ratios $\text{σ(}\text{O}{}^0{}^3\text{P}\text{→}\text{O}{}^{\mathrm{+}}{}^2\text{D}{}^0\text{)}\text{σ(}\text{O}{}^0{}^3\text{P}\text{→}\text{O}{}^{\mathrm{+}}{}^4\text{S}{}^0\text{)}$ and $\text{σ(}\text{O}{}^0{}^3\text{P}\text{→}\text{O}{}^{\mathrm{+}}{}^2\text{P}{}^0\text{)}\text{σ (}\text{O}{}^0{}^3\text{P}\text{→}{}^4\text{S}{}^0\text{)}$ are calculated at 584 Å and 304 A employing the close-coupling approximation to compute the photoionization cross section values. The coupled channels include the states dominated by the ground configuration 1s²2s²p³ of O⁺and the next excited configuration ls²2s2p⁴. It is found that the partial c section $\text{σ(}{}^2\text{D}{}^0\text{)}$ decreases more rapidly than $\text{σ(}{}^2\text{P}{}^0\text{)}$, and at the lower wavelength 304 Å, the ratio $\text{σ(}{}^2\text{D}{}^0\text{)}\text{σ(}{}^4\text{S}{}^0\text{)}\text{<}\text{σ(}{}^2\text{P}{}^0\text{)}\text{σ(}{}^4\text{S}{}^0\text{)}$. Present results at 304 Å differ considerably from previous work.  相似文献   

On the simultaneous ionization-excitation of the OII(λ834 Å) resonance transition by electron impact on atomic oxygen     

E.C. Zipf  W.W. Kao  P.W. Erdman 《Planetary and Space Science》1985,33(11):1309-1312

Laboratory cross-section data on the excitation of the OII(2s 2p⁴⁴P → 2s² 2p³⁴S; λ834 Å) resonance transition and on the production of O⁺ and O²⁺ ions by electron impact on atomic oxygen are used to show that the ratio $\text{σ(λ834}\text{A}\text{?}\text{)}\text{σ(O}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{+ O}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{)}$ is nearly constant for incident electron energies > 50 eV. Under auroral conditions, the total electron-ion pair production rate from electron impact on O can be inferred from λ834 Å volume emission rate measurements using the result that $\text{η(O}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{+ O}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{)}\text{\$}\text{?}\text{8.4η(λ834}\text{A}\text{?}\text{)}$. These findings, along with earlier work on the simultaneous ionization-excitation of the 1 Neg (0,0) band of N₂⁺ and the 1 Neg (1, 0) band of O⁺₂, allow the specific ionization rates for the principal atmospheric constituents (O⁺, O⁺₂, N⁺₂), for the multiply-ionized species (O²⁺, O²⁺₂, N²⁺₂), and for the dissociatively produced atomic ions to be inferred in aurora from remote satellite observations.  相似文献   

Quantal calculation of the lifetime of N+(5S) and the λ2145Å auroral mystery feature     

A. Hibbert  D.R. Bates 《Planetary and Space Science》1981,29(2):263-268

The calculated radiative lifetime of the metastable ion is 6.4 × 10^?3s. Used in conjunction with the results of measurements by Erdman, Espy and Zipf this sets 1.3 × 10^?18 cm² as the upper limit to the cross section for the formation of $\text{N}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{(}{}^5\text{S}\text{)}$ in e - N₂ collisions at 100eV which leaves the possibility that the process is responsible for the $\text{λ2145}\text{A}\text{?}$ feature in auroras only just open. The cross section for the formation of $\text{N}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{(}{}^5\text{S}\text{)}$ in e — N collisions is large. However for this process to lead to the observed intensity of $\text{λ2145}\text{A}\text{?}$ relative to $\text{λ3914}\text{A}\text{?}$ the N:N₂ abundance ratio would have to be as high as 1.6 × 10^?2.  相似文献   

On the photodissociation of water vapour in the mesosphere     

Marcel Nicolet 《Planetary and Space Science》1984,32(7):871-880

The photodissociation of water vapour in the mesosphere depends on the absorption of solar radiation in the region (175–200 nm) of the O₂ Schumann-Runge band system and also at H-Lyman alpha. The photodissociation products are OH + H, OH + H, O + 2H and H₂ + O at Lyman alpha; the percentages for these four channels are 70, 8, 12 and 10%, respectively, but OH + H is the only channel between 175 and 200 nm. Such proportions lead to a production of H atoms corresponding to practically the total photodissociation of H₂O, while the production of H₂ molecules is only 10% of the H₂O photodissociation by Lyman alpha.The photodissociation frequency (s^?1) at Lyman alpha can be expressed by a simple formula where F_{10.7 cm} is the solar radioflux at 10.7 cm and N the total number of O₂ molecules (cm^?2), and when the following conventional value is accepted for the Lyman alpha solar irradiance at the top of the Earth's atmosphere ($\text{Δλ = 3.5}\text{A}\text{?}$) q_Lyα,∞ = 3 × 10¹¹ photons cm^?2 s^1?.The photodissociation frequency for the Schumann-Runge band region is also given for mesospheric conditions by a simple formula where J_SRB,∞(H₂O) = 1.2 × 10^?6 and 1.4 × 10^?6 s^?1 for quiet and active sun conditions, respectively.The precision of both formulae is good, with an uncertainty less than 10%, but their accuracy depends on the accuracy of observational and experimental parameters such as the absolute solar irradiances, the variable transmittance of O₂ and the H₂O effective absorption cross sections. The various uncertainties are discussed. As an example, the absolute values deduced from the above formulae could be decreased by about 25-20% if the possible minimum values of the solar irradiances were used.  相似文献   

Quenching of O⁺(²D) by electrons in the thermosphere     

Marsha R. Torr  D.G. Torr  P. Richards 《Planetary and Space Science》1980,28(6):581-584

A major loss process for the metastable species, O⁺(²D), in the thermosphere is quenching by electrons .To date no laboratory measurement exists for the rate coefficient of this reaction. Thermospheric models involving this process have thus depended on a theoretically calculated value for the rate coefficient and its variation with electron temperature. Earlier studies of the O⁺(²D) ion based on the Atmosphere Explorer data gathered near solar minimum, could not quantify this process. However, Atmosphere Explorer measurements made during 1978 exhibit electron densities that are significantly enhanced over those occurring in 1974, due to the large increases that have occurred in the solar extreme ultraviolet flux. Under such conditions, for altitudes ? 280 km, the electron quenching process becomes the major loss mechanism for O⁺(²D), and the chemistry of the N⁺₂ ion, from which the O⁺(²D) density is deduced, simplifies to well determined processes. We are thus able to use the in situ satellite measurements made during 1978 to derive the electron quenching rate coefficient. The results confirm the absolute magnitude of the theoretical calculation of the rate coefficient, given by the analytical expression k(T_e) = 7.8 × 10^?8 (T_e/300)^?0.5cm³s^?1. There is an indication of a stronger temperature dependence, but the agreement is within the error of measurement.  相似文献   

The excitation of the infrared atmospheric oxygen bands in the nightglow     

E.J. Llewellyn  B.H. Solheim 《Planetary and Space Science》1978,26(6):533-538

Simultaneous observations of the nightgiow emission profiles of $\text{O}{}_2\text{(}{}^1\text{Δ)}$ and the OH Meinel bands have been used to show that the excitation mechanism for $\text{O}{}_2\text{(}{}^1\text{Δ)}$ in the night-time is through the reaction between OH¹ and atomic oxygen and the recombination of atomic oxygen. These reactions, and the proposed rate constants, have been used to derive the atomic oxygen profile appropriate to the observations. It is suggested that the atomic oxygen profile may exhibit significant structure near the mesopause at high latitude. It is also suggested that the extent of this structure may be influenced by transport effects related to stratospheric warming events.  相似文献   

A self-consistent evaluation of the rate constants for the production of the OI 6300 Å airglow     

R. Link  J.C. McConnell  G.G. Shepherd 《Planetary and Space Science》1981,29(6):589-594

The quenching rate k_N2 of $\text{O(}{}^1\text{D)}$ by N₂ and the specific recombination rate α_1D of O₂⁺ leading to $\text{O(}{}^1\text{D)}$ are re-examined in light of available laboratory and satellite data. Use of recent experimental values for the $\text{O(}{}^1\text{D)}$ transition probabilities in a re-analysis of AE-C satellite 6300 Å airglow data results in a value for k_N2 of 2.3 × 10^?11 cm³s^?1 at thermospheric temperatures, in excellent agreement with the laboratory measurements. This implies a value of J_O2 = 1.5 × 10^?6s^?1 for the O₂ photodissociation rate in the Schumann-Runge continuum. The specific recombination coefficient α_1D = 2.1 × 10^?7cm³s^?1 is also in agreement with the laboratory value. Implications for the suggested $\text{N}\text{(}{}^2\text{D) + O}{}_2\text{→ O(}{}^1\text{D) + NO}$ reaction are discussed.  相似文献   

The chemistry of metastable species in the Venusian ionosphere     

J.L. Fox 《Icarus》1982,51(2):248-260

Reactions of metastable species are important in determining the densities of minor ions in the Venusian ionosphere. Calculations are carried out in which the coupled continuity and momentum equations are solved for twelve ions and four neutral species in the dayside ionosphere, including $\text{O}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{(}{}^2\text{D),}\text{O}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{(}{}^2\text{P),}\text{N}\text{(}{}^2\text{D),}\text{and N}\text{(}{}^2\text{P)}$. Altitude profiles of these metastable species are presented. Their reactions are shown to be a significant source of several minor ions, especially N₂⁺, CO⁺, and N⁺. The discrepancies which existed between model and measured densities of these ions are resolved.  相似文献   

The excitation of atomic oxygen to the $\text{O(}{}^1\text{S)}$ level by energy transfer from N₂(A³∑_u⁺) molecules in aurora     

Kjell Henriksen 《Planetary and Space Science》1973,21(5):863-871

The part that the energy transfer reaction $\text{N}{}_2\text{(A}{}^3\text{∑}{}_{\mathrm{u}}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{) + O(}{}^3\text{P) → N}{}_2\text{(X}{}^1\text{∑}{}_{\mathrm{g}}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{) + O(}{}^1\text{S)}$ plays in the excitation of the auroral green line has been investigated. The contribution is estimated to be 40 per cent in this case, containing pulsating aurora in class IBC 1. Due to greater quenching of the A³∑_u⁺ state, the centroid of the VK emission is displaced 10 km upwards of the green line height, which is centred at 110 km.  相似文献   

The near infrared nightglow continuum     

P.C. Wraight 《Planetary and Space Science》1977,25(8):787-794

A review is given of observations of the nightglow continuum extending from about 7000 Å to longer wavelengths. It is suggested that the source of this emission is radiative association of atomic oxygen via the repulsive ${}^3\text{Π}{}_{\mathrm{u}}$ state to vibrationally excited O₂(³Σ_g^?). Predicted spectra are compared with nightglow and laboratory observations. Other implications for the physics of the thermosphere and upper mesosphere are discussed.  相似文献