Physics
Scientific paper
Sep 1967
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1967jatp...29.1071a&link_type=abstract
Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics, vol. 29, no. 9, pp. 1071-1085
Physics
Scientific paper
A study is made of the loss by charge-exchange of the large flux of low-energy positive ions trapped in the inner radiation zone and detected by two satellite-borne experiments. If these trapped particles are singly-charged helium ions, their lifetime is calculated here to lie between 1·4 × 104 and 9 × 102 sec for particles with mirror points (L = 1·4, Bm = 0·12) and (L = 1·4, Bm = 0·21) respectively. If these trapped ions are protons, the lifetimes for the same (L, Bm) coordinates range between 600 sec and 200 sec. These calculated lifetimes are much less than the longitudinal drift period, and the resultant severe constraints on postulated source mechanisms are examined. The night-sky intensities of the 3914 Å N2+ and H[beta] emissions arising from a resulting proton influx are calculated for locations near the Rio MinimumE For atmospheric conditions corresponding to S' = 50 × 10-22Wm-2c/s-1 and local time T = 21.00 hr, the H[beta] intensity varies between 5 rayleighs (5R) at longitude 310°E, latitude 25°S, and 75 R at longitude 325°E, latitude 30°S. For these same locations and atmospheric conditions, the intensity of the 3914 Å emission ranges from 100 R to 1·5 kR. A world-wide source strength of 5 × 1016 erg sec-1 or 1016 erg sec-1 is required to maintain a steady-state distribution of particles in the trapping regions if the experimental flux arises from protons or helium ions respectively. An injection mechanism involving neutral atoms from the solar wind is shown to be incapable of supplying energy at the required rate unless there are equal numbers of charged and neutral particles in the solar wind, a possibility deemed very unlikely. Other effects of such a trapped flux are treated briefly.
Alltum F. R.
O'Brien Brian J.
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