The kinetics of 'hot' nitrogen atoms in upper atmosphere neutral chemistry

Details The kinetics of 'hot' nitrogen atoms in upper atmosphere neutral chemistry The kinetics of 'hot' nitrogen atoms in upper atmosphere neutral chemistry

Jun 1991

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1991p%26ss...39..929l&link_type=abstract

Planetary and Space Science (ISSN 0032-0633), vol. 39, June 1991, p. 929-943.

Computer Science

24

Atmospheric Chemistry, Electron Bombardment, Hot Atoms, Kinetic Theory, Nitrogen Atoms, Thermosphere, Atomic Collisions, Auroras, Collision Rates, Elastic Scattering, Thermalization (Energy Absorption)

Scientific paper

The fate of suprathermal ground state nitrogen atoms produced by auroral electron bombardment of the thermosphere is investigated using a kinetic theory approach. The processes considered are thermalization, reactive collisions and transport. At neutral gas temperatures and densities encountered at altitudes below 150 km, thermalization is virtually complete in a fraction of a second, and N(S-4) atoms acquire a Maxwellian distribution. Transport is unimportant during thermalization due to the short time constant and small scattering length. The reactive collision rate of N(S-4) with O2 to produce NO molecules is very sensitive to the relative velocity of the reaactants, and therefore to the form of the nonthermal velocity distribution function. Adopting a hard-sphere collision model to describe elastic collisions, and a best estimate for the reactive cross section with O2, it is found that the departure from a Maxwellian distribution is of little consequence for the odd nitrogen chemistry in the lower thermosphere.

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