Electron density, and sounding rocket investigation of narrow sporadic ionosphere layer

Ivanov-Kholodnyy, G. S.

Lazarev, V. I.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

I - 
National Aeronautics and Space Adminis t ra t ion 
Goddard Space Fl ight  Center  
Contract  No. NAS-5-9299 
S T  - AI - 10499 
c 
ON ONE OF THE POSSIBLE FORMATION MECHANISMS OF 
NARROW SPORADIC IONOSPHERE LAYERS 
G. S .  Ivanov - Kholodnyy 
V. I. Laza rev  
(USSR) 
n 
I c
0 
L 
( T H R U )  
N 6 7  (ACCESSION NUMBER) 13541 
0 
> / - (PAGES) 
(CA~EGORYI 
A 
, . 
GPO PRICE $ 
CFSTI PRICE(S) $ 
7 J U N E  1966 
Hard copy (HC) 
Microfiche (MF) ,, 5 - d  
ff 663 Julv 66 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19670004212 2020-03-16T17:12:23+00:00Z
ST - A I  - 10499 
OR ONE OF THE POSSIELE FORMATION MECHANISMS OF 
NARROW SPORADIC IONOSPHERE LAYERS 
(*  1 
Geomagnetizm i Aeronomiya 
Tom 6 ,  No.2,397-399, 
I z d a t e l ' s t v o  "IQAUKA", 1.966 
by G S . Ivanov-Kholodnyy 
and V. I. Lazarev 
S U M M A R Y  
The d i f f i c u l t y  i n  a s c e r t a i n i n g  t h e  o r i g i n  o f  sporadic  E,- layers  
by exp la in ing  the  small thickness  and t h e  l a r g e  e l e c t r o n  concent ra t ion  
g rad ien t  is overcome by assuming t h e  ex is tence  i n  the  100- 1000 km a l t i -  
tude range o f  f luxes  of  t rapped e l e c t r o n s  with c lose  pi tch-angles .  
* 
* * 
The formation of t h e  sporadic  E,-layer i s  one of the  mysterious 
phenomena i n  the  ionosphere,  There a r e  many types of E,- l a y e r s ,  having 
d i f f e r e n t  c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ,  We s h a l l  cons ide r  here  t h e  s p r a d i c  EB- l a y e r s  
i n v e s t i g a t e d  with the  a i d  of rockets.  Compiled i n  Table  1 a r e  t h e  obser- 
v a t i o n  d a t a  on t h e i r  he igh t  a, width &, e l e c t r o n  concent ra t ion  n: and 
its r i s e  r e l a t i v e  t o  ne i n  neighboring he ights .  
The ma te r i a l  brought ou t  i n  Table  1 a l lows  t o  subdivide t h e  E,- 
l a y e r s  into two types  : 1) l a y e r s  with l i t t l e  excess  of ne over ne 
(10- 20%), of which the  width is - 5km; 2) narrow l a y e r s  with s h a r p  
i n c r e a s e  i n  the  e l e c t r o n  concent ra t ion  (up t o  one o r d e r  of magnitude), 
whose widths may c o n s t i t u t e  1 - 3 k m  and l e s s ,  while the g rad ien t  of e lec-  
t r o n  concent ra t ion  reaches up t o  - 10 cmD3~ krn.' The frequency i n c r e s s e  
of E, appearance with t h e  r i se  of geomagnetic l a t i t u d e  and i ts  l i n k  with 
the  geomagnetic 
i z a t i o n  may be induced by a f lux  of charged p a r t i c l e s  i n  t h e  atmosphere. 
( * )  
SLO'IEV IONOSFERY . 
* 
6 
a c t i v i t y  p o i n t  t o  the  f a c t  t h a t  t h e  sporadic  type-E, ion- 
OB ODNOM I2 VOZMOZHIEKH MEKHANIZMOV OBRAZOVANIYA UZKIKH SPORADICRESKIKH 
. 
2. 
Comparatively wide l a y e r s  may be formed by f luxes  of pouring out  
e l e c t r o n s  with r a t h e r  low energy o f  10-3Okev. Because of  s t r o n g  s c a t t e r -  
i n g  at  h e i g h t s  of E, formation,  t h e  o r i e n t i n g  a c t i o n  of t he  magnetic f i e l d  
o f  t he  E a r t h  has l i t t l e  inf luence  on t h e  motion of these  e l e c t r o n s .  As is 
shown by c a l c u l a t i o n s ,  even monochromatic e l e c t r o n s  form at 100- 110 km 
l a y e r s  wi th  s u f f i c i e n t  width 
monochromatic e l e c t r o n s ,  o r  e l e c t r o n s  with a very s t e e p  spectrum a r e  neces- 
sary f o r  the  explana t ion  o f  sporadic  l a y e r s  of  the  f i r s t  type,  This  mecha- 
nism does not  allow t o  exp la in  the formation of very narrow sporad ic  l a y e r s  
E, with g r e a t  i nc rease  of the e l e c t r o n  concentrat ion.  
A h  - 10- 20km c171. Th i s  is why, e i t h e r  
T A B L E  1 
I 7 . V I I I  1561 
2 7 . s  19G1 
100 
105 
! 00 
105 
1 nrl ,o 
] L': 
12s 
110 
100 
101 
102 
112 
108 
113.5 
108,s 
98,s 
102,9 
95 
I16 
100 
114 
93 
95 
, -  
. >  , . -  I )  
no, ex-) - 
1 ,ti. 105 
105 
I 0 5  
2.105 
4,5*105 
2,6*104 
1 , 6 *  1 0 5  
1 o j  
7,2.104 
1,35.105 
104 
8.103 
6.103 
1 , I  . i o 4  
6.103 
2,56.105 
5,3.103 
1,25.105 
2,5.105 
1,7. I @  
2,9.104 
1,1 .104 
1,2.10.1 
1,2.105 
1,2.105 
- 
n 'In, 
1.25 
1,25 
1 . 1  
1 . 1  
2.5 
6 
1,25 
1.25 
I ,25 
1,1  
1.25 
'1,25 
6 , s  
3 ,1  
3 , I  
2 
3 
4 ,5  
2 , 5  
6 
3,5 
3 
2 
4 
4 
- 
11 
21 
31 
41 
51 
51 
G I  
S! 
3, 
11. 
12: 
1.3, 
151 
51 
71 
I O '  
11 
11 '  
141 
As may be seen  from Table 1, such l a y e r s  c o n s t i t u t e  a s i g n i f i c a n t  
f r a c t i o n  of the  t o t a l  number o f  sporadic  l a y e r s  observed with the h e l p  of 
rocke t s ;  however, so f a r  no s a t i s f a c t o r y  formation mechanism has  been pro- 
posed f o r  them. 
Proposed i n  the  p re sen t  communication is a mechanism o f  narrow E,- 
5 l a y e r s '  formation by electron f luxes  of  high energy N 10 ev ,  t rapped by 
t h e  E a r t h ' s  magnetic f i e l d .  
-.. , 
A s u f f i c i e n t l y  narrow i o n i z a t i o n  l a y e r  may be formed nea r  t he  
r e f l e c t i o n  p o i n t  of  a charged p a r t i c l e  moving h e l i c o i d a l l y  in the geomagne- 
t i c  f i e l d ,  inasmuch 8.6 at approaching t h e  r e f l e c t i o n  p o i n t ,  t h e  loops  of 
p a r t i c l e ' s  t r a j e c t o r y  thicken.  
o f  i o n  formation, induced by a continuous flux o f  ha rd  e l e c t r o n s  w i t h  r e f l e c t -  
i o n  p o i n t  at he igh t s  100-1110 km. The concen t r a t ion  o f  t h e  f r e s h l y  forming 
i o n s  Q p e r  unit of time a t  t h e  height  Ah above t h e  r e f l e c t i o n  p o i n t ,  will 
be determined by t h e  f l u x  d e n s i t y  o f  i n c i d e n t  e l e c t r o n s ,  which is i n v e r s e l y  
p ropor t iona l  t o  t h e  displacement v e l o c i t y  o f  t h e  charged p a r t i c l e  along the 
magnetic l i n e  o f  force  
Let us es t ima te  t h e  p r o f i l e  o f  t h e  rate q 
where v is the  t o t a l  v e l o c i t y  of  the  e l e c t r o n  ; H and Ho are r e s p e c t i v e l y  
t h e  i n t e n s i t i e s  of the magnetic f i e l d  at  t h e  considered poin t  and at  t h e  
r e f l e c t i o n  point .  Near t h e  l a t t e r  (Ho- H) -Ah. This  is  why, 88 it  gets 
n e a r e r  t o  t h e  r e f l e c t i o n  po in t ,  t h e  q u a n t i t y  Q w i l l  i nc rease  according t o  
the  l a w  
provided we neg lec t  the  e f f e c t  of atmosphere d e n s i t y  v a r i a t i o n  over t h e  d iu -  
tance Ah. For example, 88 Ah decrease6 from 1 km t o  1 0 m  and then  t o  
10cm, t h e  quan t i ty  q i n c r e a s e s  by r e s p e c t i v e l y  10  and 100 t imes ,  T h u s ,  
the  assumption of t he  ex i s t ence  of a beam of  e l e c t r o n s  with c lose  r e f l e c t i o n  
p o i n t s  permits  the  explana t ion  of the  formation o f  q u i t e  narrow i o n i z a t i o n  
l aye r s  w i t h  
o f  e l e c t r o n 6  m u s t  be s u f f i c i e n t l y  g r e a t  f o r  the s c a t t e r i n g  
Ah 4 1 km and ne' / n e  > 2 - 3. A t  t he  same time the  energy 
t o  t ake  p lace .  
I n  o rde r  t o  conduct concrete c a l c u l a t i o n s  i t  is important t o  de te r -  
mine t h e  maximum value Q- at  the r e f l e c t i o n  p o i n t .  Formula (2) g ives  
q A h + O + m ,  ; however, from t h e  physical  viewpoint i t  is ev iden t  t h a t  t h e  quan- 
t i t y  q is l i m i t e d ,  inasmuch 88 the t i m e  of p a r t i c l e  motion t o  t h e  r e f l e c t i o n  
po in t  i s  f i n i t e . .  
t ime of the  p a r t i c l e  t o  the  ref lect ion p o i n t  A t - I G .  - A86Udng ht  equal 
t o  t h e  Larmor r evo lu t ion  per iod,  i t  is p o s s i b l e  t o  estimate t h e  thickness 
of t h e  atmosphere l a y e r ,  t r ave r sed  by the  e l e c t r o n  at e f f e c t i n g  a s i n g l e  
r e v o l u t i o n  around t h e  l i n e  of force.  The mean value of q i n  t h e  cy l inde r  
Taking i n t o  account (11, w e  may o b t a i n  t h a t  t he  no t ion  
descr ibed  around the  first loop at t h e  r e f l e c t i o n  p o i n t ,  g ives  the value 
2 
rl 
Pmax do-,  (3) 
where 
e l e c t r o n  of a 1 cm path ;  r is the r a d i u s  of  the loop. The r e s u l t s  o f  ca l -  
c u l a t i o n  for e l e c t r o n s  with energy E =lo0 and 30 kev f o r  the geomagnetic 
l a t i t u d e  - 450 at 110 k m  a l t i t u d e  a r e  compiled i n  T a b l e  2 .  
do is the  l i n e a r  d e n s i t y  of i o n s ,  havicg formed at passage by t h e  
T A B L E  2 
E, X I V  d,, CH-' 1 ,  CL, 9 m X '  .l-cu-J 
-++++F 2 m 5  1,25.103 0,05 0,7.10-0 
A t  100 km the  dens i ty  of the  atmosphere is  f i v e  t i m e s . g r e a t e r  and 
t h i s  is why 
is determined by t h e  f a c t  t h a t  t h e  m a s s  of the atmosphere, covered by t h e  
e l e c t r o n s  till the  r e f l e c t i o n  po in t ,  m u s t  be s u b s t a n t i a l l y  l e s s  than  t h e  path.  
Ye may s ta r t  a lso  from t h e  condi t ion t h a t  t he re  be no more than  one c o l l i s i o n  
a t  t h e  e l e c t r o n  over t h e  last loop,  for a f t e r  c o l l i s i o n ,  t h e  d i r e c t i o n  of 
motion of t he  e l e c t r o n  i n  the  atmosphere is somewhat d i s rup ted  and condi t ions  
can not  be r e a l i z e d  f o r  t h e  e l ec t ron  t o  be absorbed i n  the atmosphere ( i n  t h i s  
case  (Irnnr x (ZW-' and t h e  es t imates  w i l l  be by one o rde r  h ighe r  than  i n  t h e  
Table 2 f o r  h = 1 1 O k m ) .  A t  he ights  below 110- 105 km, t h i s  condi t ion  is no 
longe r  s a t i s f i e d  f o r  e l e c t r o n s  w i t h  energy E 6 30kev. 
q, must also be 5 times g r e a t e r .  The choice of g r e a t e r  energy 
L e t  us es t imate  t h e  power o f  t h e  e l e c t r o n  flux, requi red  f o r  the  
explana t ion  of formation i n  the spo rad ic  l a y e r  of n: up t o - 1 6 c m o 3 .  We 
sha l l  es t ima te  t h a t  t h e  measured nz r e p r e s e n t s  a s t a t i o n a r y  value ( i n  the  
oppos i te  case the e s t ima te  of q w i l l  be l e s s  ha rd ) .  Assuming t h e  e f f e c t i v e  
recombination c o e f f i c i e n t  i n  the  a l t i t u d e  range 100- 110 km t o  be cm3 
s e c - l ,  we s h a l l  ob ta in  
i n t o  account t he  value of 
n a t i o n  of t he  l a y e r  at 100 km a l t i t u d e  by e l e c t r o n s  w i t h  energy of 100 kev,  
a f l u x  W l $ O  electron/cm;! s e c  is requ i r ed ,  and for l a y e r  formation a t  110 km 
q = 16 Cmo3 sec" i n  the  l a y e r  maximum. Taking 
qm, i n  Table  2 ,  we s h a l l  o b t a i n  t h a t  for t h e  for -  
. 
5. 
about t he  same flux w i l l  be necessary bu t  with energy - 30 kev,  
t h e  power of e l e c t r o n s  is -1s erg/cm2 6ec ( t h i s  value could be decreased 
by one o r d e r  by u t i l i z i n g  the  second c r i t e r i o n  f o r  t h e  e s t ima te  o f  qmax. 
According t o  contemporary r ep resen ta t ions ,  t h e  emergence i n  the  upper atmo- 
sphere  of  spo rad ic  local.  fluxes of t rapped e l e c t r o n s  of such power may be 
admitted.  Such fluxes were observed on s a t e l l i t e s .  
Thus, 
The works C18,191 speak i n  favor  of r e a l i s m  of the  proposed mecha- 
nism; i n  these  works i t  wa6 es t ab l i shed  on the  b a s i s  of the  observa t ion  ma- 
t e r i a l  d i r i n g  t h e  t i m e  o f  I G Y  and IGC t h a t  t h e  s p o r a d i c  E6-layer appears 
s imultaneously i n  magneto-conjugate p o i n t s ,  
I n  connection w i t h  the f a c t  t h a t  at pass ing  from one hemisphere t o  
the  o t h e r  & V e r y  e l e c t r o n  lo se6  -0.1- 0 . a  % of its energy, t h e  l a t t e r ' s  
t o t a l  amount should be s u f f i c i e n t  f o r  I d  - lo2 such paesages. T h i s  would 
correspond t o  the observed ex is tence  time of spo rad ic  l a y e r s  of &lo2-  I d  
seconds 
Therefore ,  t h e  assumption of t h e  ex i s t ance  at 100- 1,000 km h e i g h t s  
of f luxes  of trapped e l e c t r o n s  wi th  c lose  pi tch-angle  values allows t o  over- 
come one of the  e s s e n t i a l  d i f f i c u l t i e s  of explana t ion  of spo rad ic  l a y e r s ,  
t h a t  is, t he  explana t ion  of t h e  small t h i ckness  and of a g r e a t  e l e c t r o n  con- 
c e n t r a t i o n  g rad ien t .  The proposed mechanism agrees  wel l  a l s o  with the repre-  
s e n t a t i o n  about t he  f l o c c u l a r  o r  cloudy s t r u c t u r e  of  E,. 
I n s t i t u t e  of Applied Geophysics Manuscript r e  ceived 
on 6 Augut 1965. 
Contract  No .NAS-5-9299 Trans la t ed  by ANDRE L. BRICHANT 
Consul tan ts  and Designers ,  Inc  
Arl ington,  V i r g i n i a  on 6 June 1966 
1. 
2. 
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4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
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On One of the Possible Formation Mechanisms of Narrow Sporadic Ionosphere Layers

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