The effect of atmospheric temperature on the calculations of the intensity of oxygen emissions in the framework of the Barth mechanism: sensitivity study

In the nightglow of the atmosphere in the altitude range of 90-105 km, the Barth’ mechanism is the dominant mechanism of excitation of oxygen emissions [1].

The source of oxygen emissions in this altitude range is the three-body reaction of the association of oxygen atoms. The rate coefficient of this reaction, as well as the collision quenching rate coefficients of the excited oxygen components O(¹S), O₂(b¹Σ⁺_g), O₂(a¹Δ_g) depend on the kinetic temperature of the gas. The method of sensitivity analysis for complex photochemical systems developed in [2] allows one to comprehensively consider the temperature dependence of the processes of excitation and quenching for each excited component. Analytical expressions will be obtained for the sensitivity coefficients of the intensities of these emissions depending on temperature and altitude. The formulas obtained are also suitable for estimation of the effect of temperature on the contribution of the Barth’ mechanism to atmospheric dayglow. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant RFBR No. 20-05-00450 A).

1. Krasnopolsky V. A. (2011), Excitation of the oxygen nightglow on the terrestrial planets, Planetary and Space Science, 59, 754-766, doi: 10.1016/j.pss.2011.02.015.

2. Yankovsky V. A., Martyshenko K. V., Manuilova R. O., Feofilov A. G. (2016), Oxygen dayglow emissions as proxies for atomic oxygen and ozone in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, 327, 209-231, doi: 10.1016/j.jms.2016.