Evaluation of the effectiveness of energetic thermal electrons on the excitation of the ionospheric red 6300 Å airglow

Abstract

In this paper we use previously calculated ionosphere electron temperatures Te in order to estimate the 6300 Å (red) airglow intensity enhancements attributed to thermal electrons from the tail of a Maxwellian electron distribution of sufficiently increased electron temperature. Then, we compare our results with the relevant observed measurements and we comment on the quality of the comparison and the possible causes of the differences. We also calculate the airglow intensity characteristic rise and decay times and compare them to the experimental ones, and we investigate the origin of the electrons which excite the red airglow. In the end, we assess the departure of the ionosphere electron energy distribution from a purely Maxwellian one, and the role of the electron elastic and inelastic collisions with the other components of the ionospheric F-region.