Calculation of the Ionospheric Photoelectron Distribution Function.
Abstract
Calculations of the photoelectron flux in the ionosphere have been obtained by solving the Boltzmann equation. The method is flexible enough to allow for a wide range of energy and angular dependences for both external and internal electron sources. Detailed comparisons of calculated and measured photoelectron fluxes show excellent agreement. A series of solutions is shown which indicates the sensitivity of the calculations to the solar zenith angle, isotropic versus forward peaked elastic scattering, and resolution of the energy and angular grids. At altitudes above 300 km, the assumption of forward peaked scattering gives significantly greater anisotropies in the calculated flux. To determine grid sensitivity, results are obtained for energy grids containing 50 and 20 points between 2 and 90 ev and for angular grids containing 20, 10, and 4 points. Grids which are too coarse can lead to overall errors in the fluxes of a factor of two or larger. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA031562
Entities
People
- D. J. Strickland
- Elaine Oran
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory