On the maintenance of the Venus nightside ionosphere - Electron precipitation and plasma transport

Details On the maintenance of the Venus nightside ionosphere - Electron precipitation and plasma transport On the maintenance of the Venus nightside ionosphere - Electron precipitation and plasma transport

Oct 1981

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1981jgr....86.9170s&link_type=abstract

Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 86, Oct. 1, 1981, p. 9170-9178. Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie

Computer Science

Sound

58

Electron Precipitation, Ionospheric Electron Density, Night Sky, Planetary Ionospheres, Plasma Density, Plasma Dynamics, Space Plasmas, Venus Atmosphere, Atmospheric Ionization, Electron Energy, Ionospheric Sounding, Pioneer Venus 1 Spacecraft, Satellite Sounding, Venus, Ionosphere, Nightside, Electrons, Precipitation, Plasmas, Energy, Transport, Pvo, Pioneer Venus Orbiter, Flux, Density, Spectrum, Models, Ionization, Suprathermal Ions, Oxygen, Comparisons, Data Reduction, Rpa, Retarding Potential Analyzer,

Scientific paper

The relative contributions of electron precipitation and transport of dayside plasma to the maintenance of the Venus nightside ionosphere during the long Venusian night are investigated based on simultaneous Pioneer Venus Orbiter Retarding Potential Analyzer measurements of suprathermal electron fluxes and plasma densities. In about 20 orbits, the nightside integral electron flux of electrons with energies between 5 and 45 eV is observed to be relatively constant in time and altitude, while plasma density is observed to vary by a factor of 10 or more with no correlation with the electron flux. Ionization rates and ion density height profiles are computed for O(+) and O2(+) as a function of magnetic dip angle based on a typical electron spectrum, or a downward flux of O(+) ions. Comparison of the computed profiles with the measured median O(+) and O2(+) density profiles reveals that the measured profiles can only be reproduced by a downward flux of O(+) equal to about 10 to the 8th/sq cm per sec; suprathermal electron energy distributions produce O2(+) and O(+) levels only about half and one tenth those usually observed, respectively. It is thus concluded that transport of O(+) ions from the dayside Venus ionosphere is responsible for approximately 75% of the typical nightside ionization, with variations in O(+) transport mechanism responsible for most of the observed nightside density variations. The remaining ionization is attributed to suprathermal electrons, which contribute principally to the O2(+) peak.

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