Open AccessThermal Diffusion and Multiply‐Charged Atoms in the Magnetosphere
Author(s) -
Nakada M. P.,
Singer S. F.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
geophysical journal of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1365-246X
pISSN - 0016-8009
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1968.tb05756.x
Subject(s) - magnetosphere , diffusion , ambipolar diffusion , plasma , thermal diffusivity , atomic physics , ion , thermal , ionization , plasma diffusion , physics , energetic neutral atom , thermodynamics , chemical physics , chemistry , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics
Summary Chapman pointed to the importance of thermal diffusion effects in plasmas. When applied to the Earth's magnetosphere, thermal diffusion, in addition to electrostatic force effects, can produce very marked deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium; therefore it becomes possible for appreciable concentrations of multiply‐ionized atoms to exist in a low temperature plasma. The concentration of O ++ , O + , He ++ , and other ions has been calculated for a variety of assumptions concerning the thermal gradient and the recombination coefficient. Under some conditions, the concentration of O ++ may dominate at distances of several Earth radii and produce interesting geophysical consequences.