The roles of particle precipitation and Joule heating in the energy balance of the Jovian thermosphere
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Heaps, M. G.↗
Engineering topics
Heaps, M. G.
Publications and source records attributed to Heaps, M. G..
Energy spreading and angular distribution of a beam of electrons in molecular hydrogen
A Monte Carlo approach is used to obtain the energy spreading and angular distribution of initially monoenergetic and monodirectional beams of electron incident on a gas of molecular hydrogen. Several beams of primary electrons and the resultant secondaries are degraded in a step-by-step procedure which utilizes a detailed set of cross sections, together with reasonable approximations for the creation of secondary electrons. Particular attention is paid to the initial angular distribution of secondary electrons. An analytic function which characterizes current experimental differential cross-section data is used to provide realistic inputs into our calculations. The results for energy distribution as a function of distance and angular distribution at selected energies and distances are illustrated.
Heaps, M. G.↗
Circulation in the high-latitude thermosphere due to electric fields and Joule heating
Electric fields in the earth's upper atmosphere are capable of setting the neutral atmosphere in motion via ion-neutral collisions as well as pressure gradients from resultant Joule heating. By means of simple models for the high-latitude thermosphere and electric fields a simplified set of coupled equations is solved which show that moderate electric fields, when present for a period of several hours, are capable of displacing the neutral atmosphere of the order of 50 km in the vertical, a few hundred kilometers in the north-south direction and over 1000 km in the east-west direction.
Heaps, M. G.↗
Monte Carlo simulation of energy deposition by low-energy electrons in molecular hydrogen
A set of detailed atomic cross sections has been used to obtain the spatial deposition of energy by 1-20-eV electrons in molecular hydrogen by a Monte Carlo simulation of the actual trajectories. The energy deposition curve (energy per distance traversed) is quite peaked in the forward direction about the entry point for electrons with energies above the threshold of the electronic states, but the peak decreases and broadens noticeably as the electron energy decreases below 10 eV (threshold for the lowest excitable electronic state of H2). The curve also assumes a very symmetrical shape for energies below 10 eV, indicating the increasing importance of elastic collisions in determining the shape of the curve, although not the mode of energy deposition.
Heaps, M. G.↗
Jovian proton aurora
Auroral and polar cap emissions in a model Jovian atmosphere are determined for proton precipitation. The incident protons, which are characterized by representative spectra, are degraded in energy by applying the continuous slowing down approximation. All secondary and higher generation electrons are assumed to be absorbed locally and their contributions to the total emissions are included. Volume emission rates are calculated from the total direct excitation rates with corrections for cascading applied. Results show that most molecular hydrogen and helium emissions for polar cap precipitation are below the ambient dayglow values. Charge capture by precipitating protons is an important source of Lyman alpha and Balmer alpha emissions and offers a key to the detection of large fluxes of low energy protons.
Heaps, M. G.↗
Monte Carlo approach to the spatial deposition of energy by electrons in molecular hydrogen
The Monte Carlo (MC) and continuous slowdown approximation (CSDA) approaches to the spatial deposition of energy by electrons are compared using the same detailed atomic cross section (DACS). It is found that the CSDA method overestimates the amount of energy that is deposited near the end of the path for electrons above a few hundred electron volts. The MC results are in approximate agreement with experimental data in such a way as to be relatively independent of the actual gas used. Our MC results are extended to obtain the three-dimensional deposition of energy by sub-keV electrons in molecular hydrogen.
Heaps, M. G.↗
Electron excitation of a Jovian Aurora
Because Jupiter possesses a magnetic field, auroral activity is very likely. The auroral emissions due to electron precipitation are estimated for a model atmosphere with and without helium. The incident primary electrons, which are characterized by representative spectra, are degraded in energy by applying the continuous slow down approximation. All secondaries, tertiaries, and higher generation electrons are assumed to be absorbed locally. A compilation of excitation, dissociation, and ionization cross section data for H, H2, and He are used to model all aspects of the energy deposition process. Volume emission rates are calculated from the total direct excitation rates, and appropriate corrections for cascading are applied. Helium emissions are relatively small because the majority of electrons are absorbed above the region of maximum He concentration.
Heaps, M. G.↗