Suprathermal oxygen atoms in the Martian upper atmosphere: Contribution of the proton and hydrogen atom precipitation

Abstract

This is a study of the kinetics and transport of hot oxygen atoms in the transition region (from the thermosphere to the exosphere) of the Martian upper atmosphere. It is assumed that the source of the hot oxygen atoms is the transfer of momentum and energy in elastic collisions between thermal atmospheric oxygen atoms and the high-energy protons and hydrogen atoms precipitating onto the Martian upper atmosphere from the solar-wind plasma. The distribution functions of suprathermal oxygen atoms by the kinetic energy are calculated. It is shown that the exosphere is populated by a large number of suprathermal oxygen atoms with kinetic energies up to the escape energy 2 eV; i.e., a hot oxygen corona is formed around Mars. The transfer of energy from the precipitating solar-wind plasma protons and hydrogen atoms to the thermal oxygen atoms leads to the formation of an additional nonthermal escape flux of atomic oxygen from the Martian atmosphere. The precipitation-induced escape flux of hot oxygen atoms may become dominant under the conditions of extreme solar events, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, as shown by recent observations onboard NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft (Jakosky et al., 2015).