Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Solar Cycle Variability Of Hot Oxygen Atoms At Mars, Jhoon Kim, Andrew F. Nagy, Jane L. Fox, Thomas E. Cravens

Physics Faculty Publications

The population of hot oxygen atoms in the Martian exosphere is reexamined using newly calculated hot O production rates for both low and high solar cycle conditions. The hot oxygen production rates are assumed to result from the dissociative recombination of O₂⁺ ions. These calculations take into account the calculated vibrational distribution of O₂⁺ and the new measured branching ratios. Furthermore, these calculations also consider the variation of the dissociative recombination cross section with the relative speed of the participating ions and electrons, the rotational energy of the O₂⁺ ions, and the spread of …