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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Correlations Between The Rotations And Magnetospheres Of The Terrestrial Planets And The Sun's Formation In Our Solar System, Fred J. Cadieu
Correlations Between The Rotations And Magnetospheres Of The Terrestrial Planets And The Sun's Formation In Our Solar System, Fred J. Cadieu
Publications and Research
Correlations between the rotations of the terrestrial planets in our solar system and the magnetic field of the Sun have been previously noted. These correlations account for the opposite rotation of Venus as a result of the magnetic field of the Sun being dragged across the conducting core of Venus. Currently the Sun’s magnetic field is not sufficiently strong to account for the proposed correlations. But recently meteorite paleomagnetism measurements have indicated that during the Sun’s formation the magnetic field of the Sun was of sufficient strength to have resulted in the observed correlations. As a part of these correlations …
Phosphine Generation Pathways On Rocky Planets, Arthur Omran, Christopher Oze, Brian Jackson, Chris Mehta, Laura M. Barge, Jeffrey Bada, Matthew A. Pasek
Phosphine Generation Pathways On Rocky Planets, Arthur Omran, Christopher Oze, Brian Jackson, Chris Mehta, Laura M. Barge, Jeffrey Bada, Matthew A. Pasek
Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations
The possibility of life in the venusian clouds was proposed in the 1960s, and recently this hypothesis has been revived with the potential detection of phosphine (PH3) in Venus' atmosphere. These observations may have detected ∼5–20 ppb phosphine on Venus (Greaves et al., 2020), which raises questions about venusian atmospheric/geochemical processes and suggests that this phosphine could possibly be generated by biological processes. In such a claim, it is essential to understand the abiotic phosphorus chemistry that may occur under Venus-relevant conditions, particularly those processes that may result in phosphine generation. Here, we discuss two related abiotic …
Hot Carbon Densities In The Exosphere Of Venus, Michael W. Liemohn, Jane L. Fox, Andrew F. Nagy, Xiaohua Fang
Hot Carbon Densities In The Exosphere Of Venus, Michael W. Liemohn, Jane L. Fox, Andrew F. Nagy, Xiaohua Fang
Physics Faculty Publications
The results of calculations of hot carbon densities in the exosphere of Venus are presented. The calculation is a two-step process. First a two-stream transport code is used to solve for the distribution function at the exobase, and then these results are used in a Liouville equation solution above the exobase. It is found that generally, photodissociation of carbon monoxide is the largest source of hot carbon atoms in the upper atmosphere of Venus, larger than dissociative recombination of CO+ and significantly larger than the creation of hot carbon through collisions with hot oxygen atoms. It is also found …
A Theoretical Study Concerning The Solar Cycle Dependence Of The Nightside Ionosphere Of Venus, Zoltan Dobe, Andrew F. Nagy, Jane L. Fox
A Theoretical Study Concerning The Solar Cycle Dependence Of The Nightside Ionosphere Of Venus, Zoltan Dobe, Andrew F. Nagy, Jane L. Fox
Physics Faculty Publications
We modeled the chemical and physical processes taking place in the nightside ionosphere of Venus by solving the one dimensional coupled continuity and momentum equations for 12 ion species [CO2+, O2+, O+, H+, NO+, CO+, N2+, N+, He+, C+, O+ (²D) and O+ (²P)]. We investigated the relative importance of the two major processes responsible for maintaining the nightside plasma densities: atomic ion transport from the dayside and impact ionization due to energetic electron precipitation. …
A Signature Of Auroral Precipitation In The Nightside Ionosphere Of Venus, Jane L. Fox, H. A. Taylor Jr.
A Signature Of Auroral Precipitation In The Nightside Ionosphere Of Venus, Jane L. Fox, H. A. Taylor Jr.
Physics Faculty Publications
We show here that the densities of mass-28 ions measured by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter ion mass spectrometer (OIMS) on the nightside of Venus are highly variable and show little correlation with the values of the O+ densities. We have determined the total production rates of mass-28 ions in the chemical equilibrium region and find that this production rate cannot be explained by known chemical production reactions. We propose that the “excess” production is due to precipitation of electrons into the nightside thermosphere.
Photodissociation Of Co In The Thermosphere Of Venus, Jane L. Fox
Photodissociation Of Co In The Thermosphere Of Venus, Jane L. Fox
Physics Faculty Publications
Recent investigations of CO photoabsorption demonstrate that photodissociation longward of the ionization threshold at 88.5 nm occurs primarily through line absorptions rather than continuous processes. We have constructed high resolution photoabsorption cross sections for CO at rotational temperatures near 250 K from the improved data on dissociating transitions. We examine the effects of the new cross sections on the rate of solar photodissociation of CO in the thermosphere of Venus and compare the results to values obtained with the lower resolution cross sections available previously. We find that the photodissociation profile peaks slightly higher in the atmosphere and the peak …
Atomic Carbon In The Atmosphere Of Venus, Jane L. Fox
Atomic Carbon In The Atmosphere Of Venus, Jane L. Fox
Physics Faculty Publications
The densities of atomic carbon in the Venusian thermosphere are computed for a model which includes both chemistry and transport. The maximum density of C is 2.8×107 cm−3 near 150 km for an assumed O2 mixing ratio of 1×10−4. Photoionization of atomic carbon is found to be the major source of C+ above 200 km, and resonance scattering of sunlight by atomic carbon may be the major source of the C I emissions at 1561 Å, 1657 Å, and 1931 Å. The computed C+ densities are found to be in substantial agreement with …