Approximate analytic solutions for the primary auroral electron flux and related quantities

Description

In this paper we show that the linear transport equation may be solved exactly for the primary auroral electron flux in plane-parallel geometry in the forward scattering and average, discrete, energy-loss approximations. In this approximation inelastic scattering is taken into account but elastic scattering drops out and the solution is an approximation to the flux in the downward hemisphere. Using the multiple scattering method, we obtain the solution as a finite sum of analytic functions of altitude, energy, and pitch angle where each term is multiplied by the energy shifted electron flux incident at the top of the auroral ionosphere. Closed form expressions are also found for the hemispherically averaged primary electron flux, the energy deposition rate, and the ionization rate. For a unidirectional incident flux we show that the energy deposition rate is a superposition of generalized Chapman functions of altitude, and for an isotropic incident flux we show that the energy deposition rate is a superposition of generalized J functions of altitude. The notion of pseudoparticles is discussed and used to approximate the sums which occur in the above formulae. We also compare our analytic approximations to some numerical solutions of the problem.

Subjects

Series Statement

• AFGL-TR -- 81-0069