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Generation of metastable oxygen atom O( 1 D) in sprite halos
Author(s) -
Hiraki Y.,
Tong L.,
Fukunishi H.,
Nanbu K.,
Kasai Y.,
Ichimura A.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2004gl020048
Subject(s) - sprite (computer graphics) , halo , metastability , atomic physics , physics , electron , dissociation (chemistry) , ionosphere , astrophysics , chemistry , geophysics , nuclear physics , computer science , quantum mechanics , galaxy , computer vision
We propose a nighttime source of metastable oxygen atoms O( 1 D) in the mesosphere. Here O( 1 D) atoms are generated by electron impact dissociation of O 2 molecules in sprite halo events, where electrons are accelerated in strong electric fields associated with lightning discharges. The peak production rate of O( 1 D) in a single sprite halo event is estimated to be as large as 10 4 cm −3 for a duration of 1 ms, which is comparable to, or even larger than, the steady rate by solar‐UV radiation. We also discuss the altitude dependence of O( 1 D) production in sprite halos and the dependence on day and night.