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The principal ionizing radiation responsible for the heating of the upper planetary atmospheres and the formation of planetary ionospheres from stellar or solar sources are extreme ultraviolet and X-rays (XUV) and corpuscular radiation. i.e., galactic cosmic rays arid energetic particles having their origin in stellar systems (cosmic ray protons, auroral particles, stellar wind).
For almost 50 years investigations of the Earth’s upper atmosphere have provided comprehensive knowledge about the subdiscipline of atmospheric science, now generally known as aeronomy. Since the advent of the space age observations made by spacecraft have made some of the traditional sciences into a “space science”. This is particularly true of the possibilities created for astronomical observations...
A plasma represents a collection of charged particles (electrons and ions) which interact by long range (Coulomb) forces, exhibiting coherent behavior as the result of space charge effects [173].
The upper atmosphere, in fact the entire barosphere, can be characterized by its pressure and density distribution. The starting point for the derivation of this distribution is the hydrostatic equation 2.1 % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+- % feaagCart1ev2aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn % hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr % 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9...
Chemical reactions provide the only true sink of ionization by recombination of ion pairs. In addition to this loss process, charge exchange reactions act as sources or sinks for particular ion species without perturbing the overall ionization balance [146].
Electrons released in the photoionization process due to the absorption of solar XUV radiation in planetary atmospheres may have initial kinetic energies of one 100 eV. The energy E of photoelectrons resulting from photons of energy hν interacting with an atmospheric constituent whose ionization potential is IP is given by % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+- % feaagCart1ev2aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn...
Planetary aeronomy as a study of the interaction between the stellar radiation and particle environment with planetary upper atmospheres now finds its application more and more in time newly detected exoplanets. Terrestrial exoplanets may also exist around other stars such as the many giant Jupiter-class exoplanets already discovered within the solar neighborhood. Space-borne telescopes will detect...
According to our definition, a planetary ionosphere represents the thermal plasma (electrons and ions) produced by the interaction of ionizing radiations with the neutral atmosphere, which is controlled by the force field (gravity, magnetic field) of the planet. Thus, a planetary ionosphere may be thought to extend as far as the actions of these force fields allow the plasma to be confined in the...
"Planetary Aeronomy" is a modern and concise introduction to the underlying physical and chemical processes that govern the formation and evolution of the upper atmospheres of planets. The general approach employed permits consideration of the growing number of extrasolar planets, the detailed observation of which will become possible over the next decades. The book explains the physics...
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