The vibrational distribution of O +2 in the dayside ionosphere

Abstract

The vibrational distributions of O2(+) in the X2Pi(g), A2Pi(u), a4Pi(u), and b4Sigma(-)g states in the dayside terrestrial ionosphere are calculated for both low and high solar activity models. The distributions are found to be significantly different from the O2(+) vibrational distributions found by Fox (1985) for the Venusian ionosphere. The sources and sinks of vibrational excitation and the implications for the chemistry, dayglow, and hot oxygen coronas are discussed. Finally, intensities of the first negative and second negative band systems of O2(+) are presented.