Physics
Scientific paper
Mar 1994
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994jatp...56..503s&link_type=abstract
Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics (ISSN 0021-9169), vol. 56, no. 4, p. 503-508
Physics
10
Auroras, Balmer Series, Emission Spectra, Energy Spectra, Photons, Upper Atmosphere, Geomagnetism, Hydrogen Atoms, Neutral Atoms, Spectrum Analysis, Thermalization (Energy Absorption)
Scientific paper
Energetic protons entering the atmosphere will either travel as auroral protons or as neutral hydrogen atoms due to charge-exchange and excitation interactions with atmospheric constituents. Our objective is to develop a simple procedure to evaluate the Balmer excitation rates of H(sub alpha) and H(sub beta) and produce the corresponding volume emission rates vs height, using semi-empirical range relations in air, starting from proton spectra observed from rockets above the main collision region as measured by REASONER et al. (1968) and Soraas et al. (1974). The main assumptions are that the geomagnetic field is parallel and vertical, and that the pitch angle of the proton/hydrogen atom is preserved in collisions with atmospheric constituents before being thermalized. Calculations show that the largest energy losses occur in the height interval between 100 and 125 km, and the corresponding volume emission rate vs height profiles have maximum values in this height interval. The calculated volume emission rate height profile of H(sub beta) compares favorably with that measured with a rocket-borne photometer.
Deehr Charles S.
Henriksen Kim
Lorentzen Dag A.
Sigernes Fred
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