Vibrationally excited H2 in the upper atmosphere of Saturn

Tariq Majeed; John C. McConnell; Roger V. Yelle

doi:10.1016/0273-1177(90)90096-I

Vibrationally excited H₂ in the upper atmosphere of Saturn

Tariq Majeed, John C. McConnell, Roger V. Yelle

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

We have considered the impact of resonance fluorescense of solar EUV radiation by H₂ on the distribution of the vibrational levels of H₂ in the upper atmosphere of Saturn. This source has not been considered to date. It appears that, for v ≥ 3, this is the most important source, more important than those due to photoelectron induced fluorescence, recombination of molecular ions such as H₃⁺, and vibrational excitation of H₂ by photoelectron impact. Based on the Voyager limb observations of H₂ band emission we estimate that some of the higher vibrational levels may have effective temperatures ∼ 3500 K. Such high vibrational densities may have an impact on ionospheric densities.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	131-134
Number of pages	4
Journal	Advances in Space Research
Volume	10
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/0273-1177(90)90096-I
State	Published - 1990
Externally published	Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Aerospace Engineering
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Geophysics
Atmospheric Science
Space and Planetary Science
General Earth and Planetary Sciences

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10.1016/0273-1177(90)90096-I

Cite this

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title = "Vibrationally excited H2 in the upper atmosphere of Saturn",

abstract = "We have considered the impact of resonance fluorescense of solar EUV radiation by H2 on the distribution of the vibrational levels of H2 in the upper atmosphere of Saturn. This source has not been considered to date. It appears that, for v ≥ 3, this is the most important source, more important than those due to photoelectron induced fluorescence, recombination of molecular ions such as H3+, and vibrational excitation of H2 by photoelectron impact. Based on the Voyager limb observations of H2 band emission we estimate that some of the higher vibrational levels may have effective temperatures ∼ 3500 K. Such high vibrational densities may have an impact on ionospheric densities.",

author = "Tariq Majeed and McConnell, {John C.} and Yelle, {Roger V.}",

note = "Funding Information: JCMcC acknowledges continuing support from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique for support while on sabbatical in Besan{\c c}on. TM and RVY acknowledge support from JPL contract 957763 under NASA contract NAS7-918 to the University of Arizona.",

year = "1990",

doi = "10.1016/0273-1177(90)90096-I",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "10",

pages = "131--134",

journal = "Advances in Space Research",

issn = "0273-1177",

publisher = "Elsevier Ltd",

number = "1",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Vibrationally excited H2 in the upper atmosphere of Saturn

AU - Majeed, Tariq

AU - McConnell, John C.

AU - Yelle, Roger V.

N1 - Funding Information: JCMcC acknowledges continuing support from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique for support while on sabbatical in Besançon. TM and RVY acknowledge support from JPL contract 957763 under NASA contract NAS7-918 to the University of Arizona.

PY - 1990

Y1 - 1990

N2 - We have considered the impact of resonance fluorescense of solar EUV radiation by H2 on the distribution of the vibrational levels of H2 in the upper atmosphere of Saturn. This source has not been considered to date. It appears that, for v ≥ 3, this is the most important source, more important than those due to photoelectron induced fluorescence, recombination of molecular ions such as H3+, and vibrational excitation of H2 by photoelectron impact. Based on the Voyager limb observations of H2 band emission we estimate that some of the higher vibrational levels may have effective temperatures ∼ 3500 K. Such high vibrational densities may have an impact on ionospheric densities.

AB - We have considered the impact of resonance fluorescense of solar EUV radiation by H2 on the distribution of the vibrational levels of H2 in the upper atmosphere of Saturn. This source has not been considered to date. It appears that, for v ≥ 3, this is the most important source, more important than those due to photoelectron induced fluorescence, recombination of molecular ions such as H3+, and vibrational excitation of H2 by photoelectron impact. Based on the Voyager limb observations of H2 band emission we estimate that some of the higher vibrational levels may have effective temperatures ∼ 3500 K. Such high vibrational densities may have an impact on ionospheric densities.

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DO - 10.1016/0273-1177(90)90096-I

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JO - Advances in Space Research

JF - Advances in Space Research

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Vibrationally excited H₂ in the upper atmosphere of Saturn

Abstract

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