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A first‐principles model of spectrally resolved 5.3 μm nitric oxide emission from aurorally dosed nighttime high‐altitude terrestrial thermosphere
Author(s) -
Duff J. W.,
Dothe H.,
Sharma R. D.
Publication year - 2005
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 - 10.1029/2005gl023124
Subject(s) - radiance , thermosphere , physics , computational physics , atmospheric sciences , rotation (mathematics) , infrared , altitude (triangle) , environmental science , ionosphere , optics , geophysics , geometry , mathematics
The spectrally resolved nighttime 5.3 μm emission from NO observed by the Cryogenic Infrared Radiance Instrumentation for Shuttle (CIRRIS‐1A) experiment aboard space shuttle Discovery at 195 km tangent altitude during a strong auroral event is modeled using a first‐principles kinetics model. An appropriate SHARC (Strategic High Altitude Radiance Code) Atmospheric Generator (SAG) is dosed with an IBC class III aurora. The spectrally resolved fundamental vibration‐rotation band emissions from NO around 5.3 μm resulting from impacts of ambient NO with O as well as reactions of N atoms with O 2 are calculated under steady state conditions. The calculated results, using a local translational temperature derived from the observed spectrum, are in excellent agreement with the CIRRIS‐1A observations, validating our model. The importance of the accurate nascent vibrational and rotational distribution of chemically produced NO as well as the collisonally induced rotation‐to‐vibration relaxation of rotationally hot NO is pointed out.