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Analytic description of the electron temperature behavior in the upper ionosphere and plasmasphere
Author(s) -
Khazanov G. V.,
Nagy A. F.,
Gombosi T. I.,
Koen M. A.,
Cariglia S. J.
Publication year - 1992
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 - 10.1029/92gl01940
Subject(s) - plasmasphere , ionosphere , electron , physics , computational physics , electron temperature , geophysics , energy balance , plasma , thermodynamics , magnetosphere , quantum mechanics
Approximate analytic solutions to the well‐known and commonly used time‐dependent electron energy balance equation for the upper ionosphere and plasmasphere have been obtained and are discussed. The various potential heating sources for the terrestrial plasmasphere are summarized and the corresponding electron temperatures and related characteristic heating and cooling times are calculated. A comparison between the analytic expressions for the temperature variations and relevant measurements shows excellent agreement.